


In Your Arms (Rewrite)

by blake_is_strange



Category: Life Is Strange (Video Game)
Genre: Alpha!Chloe, Alpha!Max, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alpha/Omega, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/F, Fluff, Knotting, Light Angst, Mating, Mating Bond, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Omegaverse, Pregnancy, Pregnancy Kink, Unplanned Pregnancy, but nothing crazy, omega!kate, omega!victoria, some smut
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-01
Updated: 2021-01-01
Packaged: 2021-03-02 04:08:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 35,344
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23948902
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blake_is_strange/pseuds/blake_is_strange
Summary: Victoria runs out of suppressants and is forced to try and be normal for a few days even though she's feeling far from it. It doesn't help that Max is there and that Victoria can't stop thinking about her.
Relationships: Kate Marsh/Chloe Price, Maxine "Max" Caulfield & Victoria Chase, Maxine "Max" Caulfield/Victoria Chase
Comments: 57
Kudos: 284





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys, this is a full-on rewrite. I'm not just talkin' small grammatical changes or new things added every now and then, I'm talkin' FULL rewrite people. I decided to do this because I feel that my style has evolved since I wrote this and since I hadn't yet finished the original (and felt little gumption to do so because rereading it to remember what happened is giving me slight social anxiety fun times for how much is needs works), I decided that a rewrite was in order. It won't be quite as smutty (it's ok, you can boo me) but it will be more put together and make more sense and hopefully have so many less typos (what can I say, I'm the worst at spelling. Thank you to my girlfriend for finding them and showing them to me. If only I had known you when I started that story). So please, enjoy this rewrite.

Victoria’s POV

_ Could this day be any damn slower?  _ I ask myself as I stare blankly out the window of my photography class. This used to be a class I cared about, something I actually felt passionate over. But now, as Mr. Baker - our replacement photography teacher - is rambling about the marvels of ancient “cameras.” I feel like I’m taking Introduction to Photography all over again. It’s such bullshit. At least Jefferson was a real photographer.

I mean, I get it, he’s a creep and deserves to rot in prison, but this shit is ridiculous. Most of the people in this room came here specifically because Mark Jefferson was teaching. But now this class is a joke. It’s basically another fucking art class that I don’t need to graduate. 

Apparently he’d been kidnapping girls and drugging them, taking pictures of them for his newest gallery. I shudder at the thought, trying to block out the idea that he could’ve easily done the same to me whenever he wanted. I couldn’t help kissing his ass an extra little bit. My family may own a famous gallery, but this industry is cutthroat. A million landmines and one winning ticket to the top. I plan to be the one who gets there, but with Mr. Jefferson gone, it’s almost impossible to say how I’ll get there. I thought maybe that he would help launch me there. He always curated the photo contests and now that he’s gone, Tyrant Wells has funneled the funds back into the football team. 

A bunch of mindless knot heads with no idea how to breathe through their noses instead of their mouths. It’s completely fucked, but there isn’t much I can do yet. Until I get a bit more leverage with Mr. Baker, I can’t convince anyone that our department is important enough to fund. 

I even went so far as to ask my dad if he would donate a couple grand to the school so that we could upgrade the dark room, but he said that if I wanted to use a better dark room, I could use the one we have at our private studio. But that isn’t the point. 

If people are going to take me seriously, they need to know that I came from the best of best, not just some loser public dumpster fire of a school. Blackwell is good, one of the best art schools in the state, but it’s not good enough to make anyone here famous straight out the gate. But of course, dad doesn’t care. He never does. 

I watch the sun move slowly behind the trees outside and my skin almost aches to be laying on the beach. It’s nearly graduation, nearly Summer. I’m almost out of here. Almost on my way to being free of Arcadia Bay and its mundane existence. 

I feel my leg starting to bounce impatiently underneath my desk and I calm the jittering parts of myself as best I can. Just because I already know everything there is to know about the history of photography, doesn’t mean that I can slack off.

I sigh and start to turn my attention back to Mr. Baker when I spot Max scribbling in her notebook out of the corner of my eye. I zero on her, noticing the frantic nature of her writing and I can’t help cringing internally. No wonder her handwriting is so fucking bad. She’s barely making letters on the old, worn pages of that stupid composition book. 

She’s so stuck in the retro-zone. I don’t know how Darwinism has let her get this far. The small, thin girl is a mess today. Her hair is sticking up in places because she didn’t wake up for class on time and her eyes are a bit glazed over. 

I know she stayed up late because I heard her laughing her ass off last night when she was hanging out with Kate Marsh. I resist the urge to roll my eyes as I turn them back to the front of the classroom, placing my chin in my hand and my elbow on my desk. 

Ever since Kate and Chloe started dating, the three of them have been an extra pain in my ass. Not to mention the alpha stink that stupid punk gives off. She’s a faucet of pheromones and it makes me want to puke. I’d rather light my eyebrows on fire than smell her projecting all over the damn place. 

I glance over to Kate and a bit of my irritation fades. She’s so much happier now. After everything that happened to her, I’m just glad she smiles again. It makes me feel a bit less like an evil wench. 

The sound of more aggressive scribbling pulls me from my thoughts and I glare at Max again. She’s really going now. I crane my neck a bit, but I don’t get a good look at whatever she’s doing because Mr. Baker clears his throat and the entire class turns their eyes to Max, the loudest woman to ever wield a pen. 

The satisfaction that starts to simmer beneath my skin brings a smirk to my lips as I watch the brunette look up and shrink a bit into herself. Now that Mr. Jefferson is locked up, the “perfect” heap of hipster garbage hasn’t been able to slip by in class. She’s had to actually try. It’s almost like she doesn’t need teaching. I’d be lying if I said that her eye for natural light didn’t tug on that special little envy string on my heart, but that’s about all I’m willing to admit. Well, that and she’s a total mystery to me. 

She always seems so chill, like nothing in this world even affects her. She’s almost a corpse with how little she reacts to the outside world. What with her headphones constantly playing nauseating acoustic bullshit and that stupid doe-eyed look on her face, I never would’ve imagined her to actually be a competent photographer. Or for her to smell so nice. Or for her voice to be so pretty when she sings along to the chords she plays on her guitar. 

“Have something to share with the class, Max?” Mr. Baker asks, glancing down at the freckled girl’s desk. She swallows so hard that her throat bobs and, for some reason, her eyes fly to me and then away. It sends a strange spark over my skin when her grey eyes meet mine for a split second, but I shove it away. 

She doesn’t affect me. I won’t let her. What does she think? That I’m going to save her from being humiliated in a class where she’s not even paying attention?

_ Not that you’re much better, _ that small, irritating voice reminds me and I cross my legs at the knees, crossing my arms beneath my chest as I look expectantly at the smaller girl. 

“N-No, Mr. Baker. Sorry,” she says as she closes her notebook and shoves it aside, smiling even as a small blush gathers over her cheeks. 

“It’s fine. I just hope you were taking notes instead of doodling,” he says as he makes his way over to the whiteboard by the door and starts writing in bright red dry-erase. “Don’t forget, you all have that paper on your muse due this Friday. At least a page, please. I know this isn’t an English class, but please, for the love of God, use spell check.”

The bell rings and he dismisses us. I stand, picking up my textbook and turning to Taylor.

“You’re still going to help me study today, right?” I ask my friend. She sighs, but smiles a bit, knowing full well that we’re past me demanding that she do those sorts of things. Taylor is actually my best friend. Besides Nathan, obviously. 

“Fine, but only if you have cookies,” she says as she puts her things away. I roll my eyes, hiding my smile as I wait for her. I let my mind wonder a little, trying to imagine what Max could’ve been doodling in her journal. I’ve caught glances before and she’s actually pretty good. If only her sense of style - or lack there of - didn’t completely negate her talent. 

I’m about to start walking when something hard and warm slams into my back, making me stumble and drop all my shit on the floor in front of me with a loud slam. I whirl around, my blood boiling. 

“What the fuck do you think-“ 

I come face to face with Max as she looks up at me, this far off look in her eyes. She almost looks happy, like her mind was somewhere else before reality came crashing back into her consciousness. If anyone could say that Max Caulfield was ever conscious to begin with. She bends down and picks up my textbook, holding it out to me as she speaks. 

“Sorry, Victoria, I zoned. You ok?” She asks me, her surprise fading into a pleasant, inside melting smile. Goddamn those freckles. I hate how my fingers itch to trace lines between them and memorize every single one with my hands and mouth. I vaguely wonder if she has the same freckles elsewhere, like her shoulders. Or her back. I know they’re all up and down her arms. 

I shake my head, ignoring the way my heart skips whenever I look into those stupid, rainy-day eyes. 

“Jesus, Lamefield, are you high or something?” Taylor cuts in, saving me a bit. Max looks away, her scent growing a bit submissive. I can’t help wondering what kind of person submits to a beta. 

“Yeah, and keep your nasty hipster hands off my stuff,” I snap, grabbing my textbook out of her hand. She sighs, mumbling “whatever” as she brushes past me, her happy, sleepy mood obviously ruined. I can’t help watching her go, or wanting to touch my shoulder where she had gently bumped me as she’d moved past me. I resist and shove my textbook into my bag, needing to get out of this classroom and into my pajamas. Or anything that wasn’t full of memories of Max. 

“Come on, I have to study tonight if we’re going to get any planning done for the party on Friday night,” I tell Taylor as I walk to the door. The walk through the halls has little conversation to it so I just listen to the usual din of people going from their classes to their dorms or to the bus stop or study hall. It’s only Wednesday, but the day has a weekend sort of vibe to it. We make our way past a group of alpha jocks and I wrinkle my nose, not even trying to hide my disgust. 

“If only these morons knew how to use deodorant,” I say to Taylor, getting a growl from one of the guys. I roll my eyes and keep walking. I may be an omega, but I’m not afraid of them. They’re weak-minded assholes and too far beneath me to deserve anything more than a scathing line anyway. 

“Are you sick or something?” Taylor asks as we walk out of the double doors and into the quad, the fountain gurgling gently underneath the chatter of the student body as they escape into the sun. 

“What the hell are you talking about?” I snap at the blonde girl. She gives me a knowing glance and I sigh, rolling my eyes. “Spit it out or swallow it.” She laughs sharply, looking a bit appalled by my words. 

“Victoria, you were just staring at her. She literally ran into you with her stupid nerd body and nearly knocked you on your ass and all you did was stare at her,” she tells me, my stomach sinking as realization suddenly begins to dawn on me. I scoff, raising my chin a bit.

“You must have been high or something because I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I deflect, walking along the path that leads to the quad in front of the dorms. 

My friend laughs again, with more disbelief this time. 

“Seriously, Vic?” There's a tinge of frustration in her voice as she walks beside me, her books pressed to her chest as she stares me down. “You’re thirstier than a rock in the desert. You want Max so bad that you practically drool all over her when all she does is breathe.”

I bristle at Taylor’s words, clenching my fists at my sides as we get to the dorms and head to the elevator. 

“No one else has any idea, but I know you, Vic. You’re all hard up over her and everything. You won’t even scent for anyone else anymore,” she continues, pressing the button so that we go to the right floor. I think for a moment, my skin going hot when I realize that she’s right. I never project my scent. It’s embarrassing, animalistic. But when I was looking at Max, I was calling to her. I hadn’t even noticed. 

_ What the fuck is wrong with me? _

“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?” I snap, my embarrassment melting into anger as Taylor just laughs. I wish I could wring her stupid neck, but I can’t help feeling endeared to her in the same breath. Making myself vulnerable is such a pain in the ass. She knows I won’t block her out or destroy her reputation like I would to most people who’d dare talk to me like that. I could never do that to Taylor. She’s one of the best friends I’ve ever had. She’s one of the only people who’s stuck around long enough to deal with my bullshit. I’m staring up at her, trying to ignore the fact that she’s a whole two inches taller than me. 

“Come on, we both know that you wanna ride the Max mobile,” she says teasingly, grinning down at me. Curse the universe for making her taller than me.

“What makes you think something so fucking stupid?” I ask her as the elevator opens on my floor. We walk to my room and I unlock my door, walking in and dropping my bag on my bed. I can’t help heaving a sigh of relief as I finally enter my own space, even though I know that I haven’t escaped Taylor’s line of questioning. At least I can relax a little in here. 

“God, Victoria, I have eyes and a nose and ears. All you do in that class is stare at her. I even saw you checking her out through your camera lens two days ago when she was playing guitar in the quad,” she says accusatorially, acting so smug that it makes my jaw ache from how hard I have to grind my teeth to keep myself from growling at her and telling her leave me the fuck alone for the rest of the day.

“You’ve officially lost your mind,” I say as I open my bag and pull out my books, grabbing my AP Chem textbook and handing it to her. “Because Victoria Chase doesn’t drool over anyone. Especially nasty hipster trash like Max Caulfield. Now shut up and quiz me.” 

She whines like a damn child and looks up at me as she plops herself on my white leather couch, giving me those puppy-dog eyes that have - infuriatingly - started to become fairly effective.

“Do we have to? Chemistry is so boring,” she says as she sets the book in her lap, putting her arms over it as it covers her thighs. 

“If you want to go anywhere this weekend, then yes, we have to. If I get another B, mom will take my car,” I tell her as I take off my cashmere, throwing it in my hamper. I’ll put it away more properly when I’m not having to deal with this stupidity.

My friend sighs and opens the book in her lap, leaning back against the couch, searching the table of contents for the right chapter. 

“I don’t see the point in taking this class. They’re just going to make you retake it when you go to college,” she grumbles. I roll my eyes and start unclasping the bracelet I’ve decided is probably a metal I’m allergic to. I’ll have to return it this weekend. 

“God, do you always complain this much?” I ask her as I set the bracelet down and take off my pearls, hanging them from my necklace tree and then taking off my shoes and setting them on their shelf in my closet.

“Only when I don’t get the cookies I was promised,” she retorts, making me smirk as I grab the package of chocolate chunk cookies out of their special hiding spot. I hold them in my hand, raising an expectant eyebrow. 

“Quiz me,” I say curtly. She groans in frustration and starts listing off terms. I smile in satisfaction and sit beside her on the couch, putting the cookies on the coffee table. I get all the right answers. I always do when I’m studying. Sometimes the test is just so disorienting. Especially with Warren breathing so fucking loud. I know it’s because he’s always staring at Max. He goes all dumb and slack-jawed around her. 

I wonder faintly if Max could be a beta. Maybe that’s why Warren has a crush on her. I mean, I’ve seen omegas fall for other omegas. It’s not super uncommon for same status couples to get together, especially on this side of the country. But still, I don’t know how Max could be an omega. 

She’s sort of a mystery in that way. She’s definitely on suppressants. I’ve seen her swig them down with her morning coffee enough times for it to be a fact instead of speculation. They’re huge pills, bigger than the ones I take to stave off the worst parts of my heat. Only alphas take pills that powerful. I looked it up once because I’d never seen them before. Most alphas don’t use suppressants at all. It’s sort of fucked, really. I’m expected to control my hormones but they’re not. 

Even beyond that, though, heats are just horrible. I’d rather be able to function instead of having to lock myself in my room for a week. Or longer, even. Most of the time it only lasts three days, but I’ve heard of omegas go almost a month when they aren’t on suppressants or don’t have someone to mate. 

I’ve never slept with anyone before, but I’m not exactly pure, either. I’m just not as stupid as the omegas who get pregnant in their senior year of high school. 

“Vic?” 

I jump, looking to see Taylor staring at me with an all too satisfied on her face. 

“What?” I snap at her, but she doesn’t even flinch, just grinning more. 

“You totally went all space cadet on me. What the hell are you thinking about?” She asks as she shuts the textbook and sets it aside. I sigh and roll my eyes. 

“Does how annoying you are count?” I ask as I get to my feet, crossing my arms over my chest. Her teasing is getting to me more than usual today and it’s making me feel more and more on edge. Normally her words don’t hit so hard. Or so accurately. 

She knows that Max is someone I can’t stop thinking about. She’s not an idiot and I feel little need to be subtle around her. But knowing that doesn’t make me feel better. In fact, it makes me feel worse. 

“Girl, you’re totally in lala-land. What’s going on with you? Are you still thinking about Max?” She says as she grabs a cookie from the container and takes a bite, seeming to be glad that I’m no longer spouting definitions and equations at her. 

“What does it matter? She’s a stupid selfie whore and everyone knows it,” I grumble, trying not to cringe at the words. 

As much as I hate to admit it, Max isn’t all bad. She’s hardly bad, really. She’s just… Infuriating. 

Her eyes are so sharp and bright and she’s got this smile that just sticks in my head like glue and all I can think about right now is that fact that she touched me today. She ran right into me. I felt the warmth of her against me and it practically muted my entire cognitive ability. 

_ How does she do this to me? It’s not fair. She’s not even my type. _

“That Warren guy doesn’t think she’s that bad,” Taylor comments, and I know she says it just to get me talking, but I can’t stop myself even though I know her intention is to catch me in a lie. 

“He’s a creep and he’s not even cute. He follows her around like a kicked puppy even though she’s obviously not interested. She probably doesn’t even like him as a friend. Either that, or she’s so oblivious that she has no idea how infuriatingly attractive she is,” I spew out before I can think any better of it. Taylor’s face just lights up more and more as I speak. 

“God, you are so jealous!” She practically squeals, making me bristle as I start to clutch my sleeves, feelingly my nails dig into the skin underneath ever so slightly. 

“Why the fuck would I be jealous of Warren? He’s a lame, white-knight freak with zero confidence. Who would ever be attracted to that? Not to mention, that I don’t give a fuck about who Max does or does not like because I don’t give a fuck about Max “hipster-trash” Lamefield. She’s so far below me that it’s pathetic.”

“Oh my god, Vic, you are so strung up! What has gotten into you? I’ve only seen you this bitter like twice,” she says through her teasing laughter. I glare at her and try my best not to just explode. 

I can feel my skin getting hotter and hotter as I scramble for an excuse or an insult, anything that will help me save face and show Taylor that I am not attracted to Max. That she doesn’t drive me insane. That I don’t picture her stupid face whenever I hear the sound of someone playing the guitar. That I one hundred percent do not think about her in those late, lonely nights when life is stressful and that familiar ache for closeness and release fills me with insane, impossible desires that I know will never, ever be reality. 

Because even if I do think Max is beautiful and smart and talented and so unbelievably kind, she isn’t thinking about me the same way. There’s no way in hell that Max will ever look at me that way I want her to, because I’m a massive bitch. The Queen Bee of Blackwell Academy, the stereotypical mean girl. And it fits me. It’s who I have to be right now and I’m ok with that. I need to get ahead and put myself into a position where I can get ahead. 

Because I will not settle for second place. I will not settle for the lesser person, the dumber person, the lower grades, the lack of self control that comes with the hormones and instincts I never asked for. I will never - and I mean  _ never _ \- settle. I don’t care who or what it is, I will do whatever it takes to be the best of the best in everything I do and if people get hurt, that’s because they’re not strong enough to do the same. 

“Nothing’s gotten into me, you’re just an idiot,” I grumble to my friend, but she’s not convinced and she’s unimpeded in her curiosity. 

“Vic, you know you can tell me when something’s up,” she says a bit more seriously, smiling a little. It makes something in me soften and I sigh, running my fingers through my hair even though I know it’ll disturb all of the perfectly placed strands. 

Something about all of this is off. Something about me is off. I can’t quite place it, but I feel tense, hot, angry and I’m fucking starving. 

Everything feels like it’s too much, too intense. Even my clothes feel tight and itchy even though they’re usually relatively comfortable. 

Maybe I am sick. 

“I’m fine, everything just feels so weird right now,” I say honestly, heaving a sigh. “Maybe it’s just the stress of the party and the end of the semester coming over us before we’ll even be able to blink. I don’t know, it’s crazy. I just want to lay down and take a nap.” 

“Then why don’t you?” She asks me softly, nodding to my bed. “Lay down, take a nap. You can study tomorrow. I’ll party prep.” 

“Taylor, that’s not going to happen. I have to be the one planning everything, you know that. Plus, I need to study. The world isn’t going to stop turning just because I need to get some sleep,” I say impatiently, feeling my throat go tight with what I can only describe as an overwhelming need to cry. But I keep it in. I can’t let this get to me. I won’t.

But when Taylor stands and walks over to me, putting her hands on my shoulders and looks into my eyes, I realize just how tired I am. Taylor has this strange ability to make me feel calm even when I feel like I want to scream. She just has this calming nature about her. Maybe it’s because she’s one of the only people I can really be myself around. 

“You need to rest. You won’t be able to do anything if you don’t get enough sleep. Have you even been sleeping at all?” She asks me in a way that makes me suddenly realize just how tired I really am. 

“I… Not really,” I admit softly. She rolls her eyes and gently shoves me towards my bed before going to grab her bag off the floor. 

“Take a nap and text me when you’re up. I’ll come back and we can do some more studying and party planning whenever you’re ready,” she tells me as she walks to my door, turning back to give me a good-natured but firm look. “I mean it, get some sleep.”

“Whatever, Sweet-T,” I say as I sit on my bed and start taking off my nylons. I really need a tan if I’m going to be wearing anything that actually shows my skin. I’m practically translucent. 

I can’t help the sigh of relief that I puff out when Taylor is gone. Maybe some time on my own will help me to relax. 

I decide that it’s too hot to wear pajamas and lay down in bed completely naked, not bothering to cover myself with a blanket. 

The sound of birds chirping gently outside my window helps to soothe my mind into a blank slate, a floating abyss of pure and utter exhaustion. Both physically and mentally, I feel like shit. As soon as I lay down and try to relax, my body aches and burns all over, but it’s subtle. I’m probably about to start my heat. 

Even on suppressants, the before and after symptoms can be a bitch. 

I sigh and lay on my stomach, putting a pillow beneath my belly to hopefully stave off any cramps that might wake me up. As I close my eyes and let the stillness of the afternoon cover me, I fall into a deep - mostly dreamless - sleep. 

  
  
  


_ “Victoria,” she whispers into my ear, my skin on fire. It feels like heaven to have her touching me, so close to me. Her slight frame is strong against me as she holds me, touching me in ways I never would’ve imagined could feel so good. So right.  _

_ “Max,” I gasp out when she starts to ease a hand between my legs, the gentleness of it doing next to nothing to stave off my animalistic desires. But Max is slow, sweet, gentle and kind and she doesn’t use me. She touches me like I’m made of gold, like she’s never held anything so precious. And it’s everything I want.  _

_ Almost.  _

_ “Max, please,” I whimper out and she shushes me with her lips, kissing me until I stop squirming beneath her.  _

_ “I know, baby, I know.” The pet name makes me shiver, along with the roughness of the shorter girl’s voice.  _

_ But it’s not the only thing. _

_ I can feel her arousal pressed to me, and I open my mouth to beg for it, and then a loud, obnoxious chiming sound fills the air.  _

I groan and open my eyes, whining to my empty room. I grab my phone and see Taylor’s name flashing at me. I click decline and let my phone fall onto my bed. 

Everything hurts. Every inch of me is burning, tight and angry. I sit up, wincing at the pain in my abdomen. I just need to take an extra pill and I’ll be fine. Getting to my feet, I go over to my desk and grab the bottle of pills, my heart lurching in my chest. 

I have a single pill left. 

“Shit,” I spit as I clutch the bottle in my hand. “Shit, shit, shit!” 

I open the bottle and put the pill in my mouth, swallowing it without water before hurrying to pick up my phone. I click on the app that’s connected to my pharmacy and choose which medication I need refilled, but the date at the bottom of the page isn’t ideal. Far from it.

“I don’t have until Monday,” I growl, clicking order anyway before tossing my phone back onto my mattress and running my fingers through my hair. 

“What am I supposed to do? I can’t lock myself in my room all weekend. And I won’t even have time to go get them until after school on Monday. Goddamnit, Victoria, you're so stupid! Why didn’t you go get them last week when you had time?”

My self-scolding is interrupted by the logical part of my brain, reminding me that there are omegas in this very dorm that aren’t on any form of medication and can still go do things even in the worst part of their heat. 

I scramble to my phone again, apologizing to it internally. It doesn’t deserve my wrath. 

I search through my contacts, my eyes landing on omegas who I know for a fact are all on suppressants. Racking my brain, I watch my maroon colored nails hover over my phone, wondering who the hell I’m supposed to text right now. It’s not often that I  _ need _ someone’s help this badly and there are even fewer people willing to actually help me. Being a bitch has its drawbacks. 

Pressing my hands to my forehead, I try to push away the ache that’s started along the front of my skull, groaning in frustration. 

And then it hits me. 

Soft violin music is floating through the wall behind me. Music played by an omega with strict, overbearing and religious parents. Parents who I know for certain would never let their daughter take medication. Unlike my parents - who insisted that I start suppressants right away - Kate’s parents don’t believe in that sort of thing. At least, to my knowledge. 

I hurriedly throw on something so that I’m not walking around naked, and then open my door, checking the hallway before slowly stepping out. It’s deserted as far as I can tell. Even Caulfield’s dorm is quiet. She usually has some of that horrible hipster music playing by now.

I walk as calmly as I can manage to the door next to mine, taking a slow deep breath before knocking. The music on the other side of the door stops abruptly and I stand stock still, my hands at my sides. 

The door opens slowly and Kate looks around it, giving me a shy smile that makes something in me ache. I really need to make more of an effort to be kind to the other omega. She’s been through a lot and I’ve been more of a detriment than a help in a lot of ways. 

“Oh, hi, Victoria,” she says as she opens her door all the way. Alpha stink rushes to my nose and I know that Chloe Price is there. I wrinkle my nose on instinct and sigh, deciding that I need to get this over with. 

“Hi, Kate. I need a favor,” I say outright, knowing that the sooner I get to the point, the sooner I can curl up into a ball in my room and try to make the burning stop.

“Oh boy, a favor for  _ the  _ Sticky Vicky, Queen Beotch of Blackwell.What can we do for you today?” Chloe asks as she comes up behind Kate, wrapping her arms around the smaller girl who now looks thoroughly embarrassed. 

“I wasn’t talking to you, you giant freak,” I say sharply, but the tall alpha doesn’t seem fazed in the slightest. 

“Oh, come on, Vic. I thought we were friends,” she says as Kate sniffs the air, looking me over with what I can only guess is pity. She probably knows I’m in heat more than Chloe ever will. I’m glad that the blue haired girl is so drowned in Kate’s own scent that she doesn’t notice, but it’s making my life much more difficult right now. 

“You and I are not friends and probably never will be,” I say as I cross my arms over my chest. This is taking too long. “Now can I please have a moment to talk to Kate?  _ Alone. _ ” 

Chloe sighs, rolling her eyes. 

“Whatever, you’re no fun anyway,” she says before giving Kate a gentle kiss on the cheek. “Don’t be too long, Max and I were enjoying the music.” 

My skin goes tight all around me and the familiar molten heat of instinctual arousal fills my gut. I swallow hard, daring to peak over Kate’s shoulder to see Max sitting on the little grey couch next to the door. She gives me a little wave and a half smile, obviously not over how rude Taylor and I were earlier. 

_ God, if just seeing her gets me like this… _

I cut that train of thought short, glad that Kate steps out into the hall and closes the door behind her. I take a step back, sighing heavily.

“What did you need?” Kate asks sweetly and I’m struck by the difference. She used to be so mousey, but now she’s looking right into my eyes, obviously fighting her instinct to submit to my more dominant energy. 

“I… I’m out of meds,” I force myself to say, crossing my arms over my chest again. “And I won’t have more until Monday. Now, obviously this is not ideal and I was wondering if you could help me.” Kate giggles a little before covering her mouth. I have to suppress a growl, sneering at the shorter girl. “What’s so fucking funny?”

“Nothing, nothing,” she insists, holding her hands up apologetically. “It’s just that I feel like Frank or Nathan would be the better people to go to for meds. I don’t have any.”

“I know,” I say a bit too impatiently, having to put all my willpower into not tearing into Kate for being so oblivious. “I can’t buy any. My parents will think I’m doing drugs again, ok? I need a more… Homemade type of thing.”

Understanding floods Kate’s features and she smiles, laughing softly.

“Ohhh, ok, I got you,” she says as she turns back to her door and opens it, giving me a view of Chloe telling Max something that I can only imagine is some dramatized story if her hand motions are any indication. But they both look up and Max looks right into my eyes, giving me a soft, heart melting smile. I swallow around my tongue and manage what I’m guessing looks more like a grimace than a smile. 

Kate goes to her desk and opens a drawer, pulling out a few things that I don’t see. I’m too distracted by the way Max is glancing at me every other moment that passes. 

“So, how about an invite to that party you’ve got going on Friday night?” Chloe asks, pulling my attention to her. I try my best not to bristle, holding back the wave of disgust that washes over me when her scent takes the place of Max’s much more gentle pheromones. 

“What?” I ask impatiently, giving the tall alpha my best withering look. She doesn’t seem fazed, unfortunately. 

“I’m just sayin’ it might be fun! We haven’t gotten a lot of chances to hang out,” she says as she blocks Max from my view. Understanding suddenly rushes over me as I look into the blue-haired girl’s eyes. She’s protecting Max. I can smell it now and it makes my nose wrinkle. 

_ How cute _ , I think to myself, crossing my arms over my chest. She must smell me much more clearly now if she’s suddenly worried about her friend being pounced on. 

“There’s a reason for that, you gangly freak,” I say with all the sharpness I can manage, which isn’t much with the image of “pouncing” on Max still engraved into my mind’s eye. “I have a reputation to uphold. Not to mention that you’re not exactly the type we like having at our parties.”

“Why? Afraid I’ll smoke all your weak-ass grass?” 

“Ok, ok, that’s enough,” Kate says softly, her tone sounding an awful lot like a mother soothing her children. I clench my fists and take the small tote bag that Kate hands to me. “A cup or two a day should be enough to…”

She pauses, giving Chloe a look. The alpha sighs and backs away, rolling her eyes. 

That stupid bitch owes me big time for not letting everyone rip into Kate for their little relationship. I had to stop Nathan from going into the girl’s bathroom and scratching “Jesus’ little dyke” into one of the mirrors when he found out about them. 

But Kate’s never done anything to me, so I guess I did it more for her sake than Chloe’s. Still. 

“It should stave off a good amount of the usual symptoms, but it won’t be as good as the pill. If you need more, I’m stocked up,” Kate continues, pulling me from my angry thoughts. 

“Not that she needs it!” Chloe calls from inside the room and the omega blushes deeply. I hear Chloe grunt in pain, from what I’m guessing is Max elbowing her. 

_ Good. Serves her right. _

“Thanks,” I say stiffly and Kate smiles at me, helping me relax a bit. “I… I owe you one.”

“Don’t be silly,” she says with a soft laugh, almost pulling a smile to my lips. “This is what we do. I know how it feels to go your entire life unmedicated, but I can’t imagine being on them and then having to take a break.”

I shrug, my arms crossing over my chest on reflex. I’m not the biggest fan of being vulnerable, but Kate makes it difficult to hold up my walls. Especially after seeing her on that roof. 

“I’ll live. I just hope everyone else can keep their stuff in their pants,” I say as I chance a look at Max. She’s full on staring at me now, her nostrils flaring slightly. The sight sends fire into my gut and I have to clear my throat to keep myself from letting out a much less appropriate sound. “Thanks again. See you later.”

“No problem. Have a good night,” Kate says before turning back to her room. The door closes and I sigh, hurrying back to my own dorm. I lock the door and strip, panting a little as the cramps start to overwhelm me. 

They’ve never been this bad. Not to mention that having Max’s soft, soothing scent and her sparkling grey eyes locked in my mind don’t help. I turn my coffee pot on and pour a bottle of water in, setting it to just make the water hot before collapsing onto my bed and curling up into a ball. 

I can feel every inch of my body so clearly that it hurts, my eyes clenched shut as I take this small moment to try and alleviate some of the pain. But my own fingers don’t help much. Not when I can practically feel Max’s eyes on me, I can almost hear her voice, her breath hot and sweet as we kiss like we’re the only two people in the world. 

I’d give up every cashmere I own if I could have her now, but I know those thoughts aren’t fully mine. And if they are, then I’m in much more trouble than I thought. 

The coffee-maker beeps and I whimper into one of my pillows, wishing I could just stay like this. At least the cramps aren’t as bad when I’m laying down. But Kate said that the tea would help, and that’s worth the five second walk.

I make the tea and set in on my nightstand, laying back down on my bed and turning on Netflix on my TV to hopefully distract me at least a little bit. I need a guilty pleasure show to keep my mind off of the thoughts floating through my mind. 

I need to get through this. Otherwise I might pin Max to a wall and make her take me whether she likes it or not. I hope she’d like it, though.


	2. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Max pines after Victoria and is useless.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to my beautiful girlfriend for editing this and thank you to all you lovely humans for being patient with me. Hopefully, the length makes up for how long it took lol. Enjoy!

Max’s POV

I write hurriedly into my journal, my heart racing a bit as the words start to form. Their soft, gentle words that belong in a song, so that’s how I’m writing them. Right beside the best drawing I’ve ever drawn. 

Victoria’s critical eyes stare at herself from her compact as she carefully applies her lip gloss, delicately manicured fingers holding the applicator like it’s a magic wand, making her lips look way more enticing than they should for being able to say so many cruel things. 

I focus on that feeling, writing the words that come into my mind, hoping to spew out all the complicated emotions that fill me every time I look at the blond omega. She’s everything in a girl that I want while also being nothing like the person I thought I’d have a crush on. It’s irritating and fascinating, just like her. She’s a puzzle that’s not that hard to solve in some ways, but when you solve her, the picture is clear and beautiful and it makes my heart ache all at once. 

A pretty rich girl raised by pretty, rich parents who want perfection in every inch of their life, including their only child, a daughter who’s become cold to the outside world. A woman who hurts people and pushes them down so she can get to the top, something I’m not always sure she actually wants. She’s ambitious, but I can tell that the stress of being at the top of Blackwell is getting to her. 

I scribble down word after word faster and faster, feeling like the confusion of it all might overwhelm me if I don’t get it all out onto paper.

“Have something to share with the class, Max?” Mr. Baker asks, pulling me from my focus and making me jump a little. I glance over at Victoria and see that she's staring right back at me, so I hurriedly look away, putting on the best smile I can muster - which probably isn’t all that good considering how off-balance I feel suddenly. Being pulled form a creative trance so suddenly always leaves me feeling hazy and strange. 

“N-No, Mr. Baker. Sorry,” I say as I close my notebook so he won’t be able to see what I’ve been writing before shoving it aside.

“It’s fine. I just hope you were taking notes instead of doodling,” he says as he makes his way over to the whiteboard by the door and starts writing in bright red dry-erase. “Don’t forget, you all have that paper on your muse due this Friday. At least a page, please. I know this isn’t an English class, but please, for the love of God, use spell check.” I tense up at the reminder of our paper and start putting my stuff away, knowing that the bell will ring any second now. I sigh when it does, slinging my bag over my shoulder and running my fingers through my hair to smooth it down. I woke up late this morning, so I know I look like a shit sandwich, but part of me couldn’t care less. I’m exhausted. 

I stayed up late with Kate and Chloe last night watching fail compilations on YouTube that were surprisingly hilarious and addictive. I’m pretty sure we watched every fail video on the internet, but I’m also sure that Chloe will send me some that we didn’t see. I smile at the idea, loving that I get to spend so much time with Chloe and Kate even though they’re dating. There was some time where I stayed away, of course. I didn’t want to get in the middle of their budding relationship when it first started.

Especially that first week. 

Kate was so afraid and Chloe was so shy and still hurt from when Rachel left. Their relationship was still fragile then, and the last thing I wanted to do was make that worse. But now that they’re basically welded together by their love and mutual appreciation of deep fried memes and math - insert gagging noise - they insist that I hang out with them whenever possible. I appreciate it, I really do, but sometimes I feel a bit like a third wheel. 

Especially that one time Chloe tried to give Kate a hickey while we were playing Mortal Kombat. I shiver in disgust at the memory. Luckily, Kate is a saint and batted Chloe away with relative ease, scolding her for being so single-minded while I was around. The PDA hadn’t lessened in volume, but it had definitely gone down in nastiness since then. 

I’m so lost in thought that I barely notice a tall, blond figure standing right in my path. I bump into Victoria with all the grace of a baby deer walking on ice and her textbook falls with a slam. I cringe at the sound and nearly flinch away when Victoria whirls around me with all the wrath of a hurricane. 

“What the fuck do you think-“

She trails off, staring down at me as I wet my lips worriedly. I lean down, picking up her textbook and holding it out to her, trying to smile. She looks taken off guard, as if she wasn’t expecting it to be me. I don’t know why she wouldn’t expect me of all people to run face first into her back, but the look on her face is kind of adorable, honestly. Her lips are so smooth and shimmery in the sunlight shining through the windows behind me. 

I smile a bit more naturally, lost in just how pretty Victoria really is in the light of the sun when she’s not scowling at me. 

“Sorry, Victoria, I zoned. You ok?” I ask her gently. She doesn’t speak, staring into my eyes so intently that I almost look away, but there’s something there that’s… different. 

Then she shakes her head and reality comes back in the form of Taylor’s voice, harsh and accusatory, her scent much more dominant than my own.

“Jesus, Lamefield, are you high or something?” She practically spits at me and I project what I hope is a submissive scent, not wanting to start anything. This is the last thing I need right now. 

“Yeah, and keep your nasty hipster hands off my stuff,” Victoria snaps at me and I sigh, my good mood suddenly tanked. 

_ Oh, right. We’re not friends. Got it. _

“Whatever,” I grumble as I brush past her, trying to ignore the way her scent suddenly washes over me as I leave the classroom. Lavender. God, save me, she always smells so good. I’ve had to stop taking showers at the same time as her because her scent and the smell of her shampoo always cause me… Issues. One issue, specifically. 

Said issue is trying to become a problem as I hurry through the halls of Blackwell, desperately needing a breath of fresh air.

I don’t have an issue stopping my mind from traveling to all those bad places where Victoria is less prickly and more like the girl I see when she’s not paying attention. She gets this look on her face when she’s spacing out. Her mouth falls open a fraction and her eyebrows relax into soft lines and her shoulders loosen and what I wouldn’t give to see that all the time. 

_ Jesus, Max. Get ahold of yourself. You’re turning yourself into a gay mess for no good reason. Victoria doesn’t see you that way and she never will. She sure seems to go out of her way to make fun of you enough. _

I sigh, walking out into the sunlit quad, smiling when I see Chloe talking to the skater dudes over on the brick wall. I hurry over and shove her shoulder playfully. 

“Dude, not even a text? You wound me,” I say teasingly, feigning hurt. She laughs and wraps her arm around my shoulders, giving me a rather painful noogie. 

“Super Max! Sorry, I came to help Kate with her music final. You wanna come with?” She asks me as I try to fix my hair.

“Sure, but only if you promise to never do that again,” I say with a smile.

“Deal. Later, dudes,” Chloe says and they all say bye to us as we walk towards the dorms. I spot Victoria and Taylor ahead of us and I don’t really have the willpower to keep me from staring at Victoria. She’s got this sweet, enticing scent trailing behind her. It’s much more pleasing than usual for some reason. Not to mention that those skirts she always wears are making me regret only owning sweat pants and jeans. 

“So, how was your day?” Chloe asks me, a playful tone to her voice as she nudges me back to reality. 

“What? Oh, uh. It was ok. How was yours?” I ask as sincerely as I can manage. She chuckles and shakes her head. 

“It was fine. What’s on your mind? You keep trying to melt Victoria’s clothes off with your eyes,” she says quietly, which is a relief. There are more people in the courtyard outside the dorms than there were outside the front of the school. 

“Am not,” I grumble, glancing up to see Victoria and Taylor talking as they walk into the dorms. 

“Well, it sure looks like it,” Chloe replies as she follows my gaze. “Wow, blondie looks pissed. What’s got her all in a tizzy?” I can’t help laughing at the word tizzy, shaking my head as Chloe finds a bench and sits down. I join her, knowing that we need to wait for Kate to be done assisting Ms. Grant with cleaning up the classroom. It’s one of her extra credit things that she does. Not that she needs it for her Calc class, but she needs it for Chem. She had a harder time than usual in that class last semester. Not that I blame her. I'd be doing badly in every class if I’d gone through what she did. 

“They’re both blond,” I comment as I pull out my journal and open it to the page I was writing on in class. I sigh, picking up a pen and trying to find that creative space again. But I’m distracted by Chloe very obviously staring over my shoulder. 

“Damn, Maxipad. You’ve got it bad,” she says with a smirk, grabbing the notebook from my hands. 

“Hey, give it back,” I say as she jumps to her feet, reading the words out loud. 

“‘A snow-covered lily, choosing only to bloom when no eyes lay upon you.’ Jesus, Caulfield, just bang her already,” she says teasingly and I groan, jumping to grab my journal as she holds it just out of reach.

“Oh, come on, Chloe, give it back!” I growl as I give another pathetic jump. “Seriously, give it!” 

“Ugh, fine. You’re no fun,” she says as she hands me back the worn out composition book. I close it and kick her shin with all the force of a butterfly wing. 

“You’re a dick,” I grumble as I go back to the bench and shove my journal into my bag. 

“And you’re a simp,” she says with a grin. 

“God, I hate that word.”

“I know, that’s why I said it,” my supposed best friend says as she plops back down on the bench. “So, you ever gonna ask her out? Or just pine from afar until you graduate and never see her again?”

My heart aches at the idea of never seeing Victoria again. It aches in a way that I’m honestly a little weirded out by. She’s a bitch to me and almost everyone else all the time. Why should I miss her? Or even worry about the thought of missing her?

“Chloe, she hates me,” I say with a sigh, running my fingers through my hair. “Even if I did ask her out, she’d shoot me down like a cheap paper airplane.”

“You don’t know that. She might be totally thirsty for you,” Chloe says with a hilariously overdone eyebrow waggle and I roll my eyes. 

“In what universe?”

“Every universe! Max, listen,” she says as she turns to face me on the bench, grabbing both sides of my face. I furrow my brow at her, frowning as she squeezes my face. But I look into her eyes because I know that once she gets out whatever she’s about to say, she’ll let go of my cheeks.

“You are smart and talented and cute as hell. Any omega with a brain can see that. Victoria just has a huge stick up her ass. But she probably likes you,” she says before finally letting go of me. I rub my cheeks and slump against the bench. 

“I don’t know. She’s always so mean. I ran into her by accident and after I apologized to her and handed her back her textbook, she told me to keep my hands off her stuff,” I explain, feeling a bit defeated. “And when she isn’t chewing me out, she’s ignoring me. Like pointedly.”

“Do you remember how, when you’re a kid, they always tell you that a person who teases you and pushes you around usually likes you?” Chloe asks, looking thoughtful. 

“A bit of a fucked up way to dismiss being shoved by another kid on the playground, but yeah.”

“Maybe Victoria being a massive bitch to you is her way of telling you that she likes you,” she suggests and I can’t help laughing. 

“If that’s true, then she secretly likes everyone else in the world besides Taylor and Nathan, and maybe Courtney on a good day,” I say as I look up to see Kate moving towards us. I smile at her and she waves, hurrying over. Chloe completely loses her train of thought, jumping to her feet and running over to the shorter girl before wrapping her up in a big hug, lifting her up and spinning her. 

Kate squeals and I smirk, grabbing my bag and slinging it over my shoulder. My weird drama with Victoria can wait. I take my camera out of my bag, testing the light before capturing the exact moment that Kate leans up to kiss Chloe and my heart breaks a little. 

_ Will I ever have that? _

But when the polaroid slides from my camera and I shake it, I have to push the slight envy away. I put the picture in my bag and smile as best I can when the couple walks over to me. 

“Max, you have no idea how happy I am to see you,” Kate says and my fake smile becomes a bit more real. Kate always manages to do that to me. Her bright spirit has an infectious quality to it and I’m so glad to see it so clearly lately. Ever since she and Chloe started dating, Kate’s been a whole new person. 

“Damn, that hurts,” Chloe says playfully, wrapping her arms around Kate’s middle and burying her face in the shorter girl’s neck. 

“You’re fine, you big weirdo,” Kate replies teasingly, laughing as Chloe gives her a squeeze. “I need your help with my art project. I’m totally stuck. Art block to the Max.” 

I laugh at the pun and Chloe groans, but the smile on her face is more than enough proof that she doesn’t mind it. 

“I’ll take a look at it, but I’m not all that great with the drawing stuff,” I say as we start walking to the dorms. 

“Lies,” Chloe says firmly, opening the door for Kate and me. 

“You’re so good at drawing, Max. All those doodles in your journal are better than some of the professional work I’ve seen shown in class,” Kate affirms. 

“Face it, Max, you’ve been the artsy type from the start,” Chloe says as we get in the elevator. 

“Alright, thanks, moms,” I say teasingly and Chloe laughs while Kate blushes and just giggles a little. We get to Kate’s dorm and I set my bag down on the floor beside the couch, heaving a relieved sigh. 

Finally, peace. 

“Are we really going to study right now?” Chloe asks as her girlfriend starts pulling out textbooks. 

“Yes, my beautiful, blue-haired genius. I need your help on this next Chemistry test,” Kate replies, kissing Chloe’s cheek. The other alpha smiles and shrugs, seeming content to follow Kate wherever she leads. 

“Well, if you keep giving me kisses and calling me a genius, I’ll do whatever you want,” Chloe purrs out as she takes the Chemistry textbook in her hands, kissing Kate’s head affectionately. 

I smile softly, pulling my Photography notebook out of my bag and opening it, tapping my pencil against it. This sort of routine is pretty normal. We’ll all gather in Kate’s dorm or mine and we’ll do homework and study together or separately and just spend most of the evening like that. Sometimes, like last night, we’ll take a study break and get dinner and watch TV in the dorm lounge or on my laptop in either dorm. It’s a new and relaxing routine that’s made this last semester much more bearable. I’ve actually found myself enjoying much more of my time around other people now that Kate and Chloe have broken me into the social sphere of senior year. Kate has a surprising amount of friends now. Some of them are friends from the beginning of the year like Stella and Alyssa, but now she’s friends with people like Dana, Trevor and I even caught her talking to Courtney the other day. 

It’s a nice change of pace in Blackwell’s normally stagnant social pool. Everyone hangs out with the same people all the time, rarely branching out and making new friends because why would you when people are so stuck in their usual ways? In a weird, sad kind of way, everyone seeing Kate on that roof changed that. Even if people like Victoria are still stuck in the lame 90’s high school movie trope of hating everyone, most people have started being more understanding. Less petty. It’s a nice shift in atmosphere. Subtle, but there. 

Kate and Chloe help me with my Algebra homework after Kate studies for Chem and then Kate starts rehearsing her piece for music class. It’s beautiful. It brings a soothing lull to the air as I try to think of who or what my muse really is. Do I even have one?

I sigh softly, taking a moment to just stare out the now open window of Kate’s room. I can still remember when it was always closed, blocking away the world from Kate’s safe place. I stare at the trees and watch as a bird flies over and lands in its half formed nest, taking care to weave a pine needle through thicker, firmer sticks. It’s sort of inspiring. A small creature working so hard to create a safe place for their tiny family. It reminds me of home, of my parents. Dad’s bear hugs, mom’s famous waffles, nights spent around the TV watching Naked and Afraid and laughing - or yelling - at the mistakes the contestants make. 

My heart aches suddenly and I have to look away, realizing that I’m becoming distracted from the problem at hand. 

“Do you think I have a muse?” I ask Chloe who’s been sitting beside me with a comic book in her hands. I see Catwoman on one of the panels and I can’t help imagining a certain blond omega in that skin-tight costume. All mystique and kickass. I have to push the thought away before it gets too far.

“Blondes in tight skirts, probably,” Chloe replies with a grin, closing the flimsy comic and setting it aside. “Why?” I blush and repress a groan of embarrassment at the taller girl’s words. 

“We have a paper due on Friday about our muse and I don’t know if I have one,” I tell her softly, tapping my pencil against the still blank notebook page in front of me. “How am I even supposed to know if I do or not?”

“You’re asking the wrong person, Super Max,” Chloe says as she looks down at the blank page on my lap. “I’m not exactly the creative type.”

“What inspires you?” Kate asks me, stopping her piece for a moment as she looks at me, her violin still pressed against her shoulder and her bow in her hand. “When you see something, what makes you want to take a picture of it?”

I pause, worrying my lip as I try my best to really think about it. 

“I don’t know? Capturing the moment? Stopping time?” I say softly, leaning back against the couch as I scribble little pencil lines on the page. “Seeing the truth?” 

“So you like seeing the truth behind something?” Kate asks, smiling gently at me, looking ever the patient girl that I know and love. 

“Yeah, I guess so,” I say softly, remembering vividly the song I’d been writing, the way Victoria had looked at me after I’d bumped into her and tried to hand her back her textbook. There’s something behind those eyes, something that so few other people get to see and I want to find out what it is. I don’t really know why, exactly. Maybe it’s because she’s so prickly. Like a beautiful rose bush that makes you bleed when you try to pick one of the flowers. 

Or maybe it’s because so few other people are like her. I’ve never met another human being who makes me feel the way she does. Whether it’s how cruel she is, or how insecure she is, I don’t know, but she fascinates me. She’s hiding herself behind a mask and I want to pull it away. 

But do I feel the same way about other people? About all the nature pictures I take?

I think so. Seeing nature working in its never-ending loop of life and death and recycling of energy, it brings me peace in a weird way. Watching how this world works with or without our interference, how we’re more a part of it all than we think. 

“So my muse is the truth?” I ask and Kate shrugs, smiling as she starts to play again. 

“Maybe. It’s not a bad choice,” she tells me and Chloe relaxes against the back of the couch, reading her comic book happily. I sigh and decide I need to start writing this paper if I’m ever going to move on to anything more fun like actually hanging out with my friends. 

We sit like that for a little while, the three of us all doing our own thing. It’s nice, relaxing. I’m nearly done with my paper when there’s a knock at Kate’s door. She pauses, her brows furrowed. The three of us look at each other, not sure who could be coming over this time of day. It’s just the three of us most of the time. 

Kate sets her violin and bow down on her bed and walks to the door, and I’m immediately hit by a scent so intense that I nearly fall back from it. Lavender and sweetness and a sharp calling note that has every suppressed instinct inside me reeling. Victoria is standing there in sleep shorts and a tank-top, her hair mussed and her eyes bloodshot with exhaustion. She looks much less put together than earlier today. She glances over Kate’s shoulder at me and I feel something deep inside me shift, and not in a good way. 

A semi-familiar tug makes itself known deep in my gut and I instinctively cover my lap with my notebook, swallowing around my tongue. 

“Oh, hi, Victoria,” Kate says with a friendly smile, obviously taking Victoria a bit off guard. I watch her nose wrinkle and I wonder if she smells me projecting. I doubt it, Chloe’s scent has always been way stronger than mine. She always gets that look on her face when Chloe is around, which - for the moment at least - gives me some relief. 

“Hi, Kate. I need a favor,” Victoria says firmly, sounding very no-nonsense behind her slightly breathless tone. She looks miserable. 

_ She’s in heat, _ I realize a bit belatedly, my jaw going a little slack as I take a deep breath without thinking. Chloe elbows me, knocking me from my dumbfounded state as she stands, giving me a warning look. I swallow the growl that tries to escape, looking at the ground.

“Oh boy, a favor for the Sticky Vicky, Queen Beotch of Blackwell. What can we do for you today?” My tall friend asks the blonde girl on the other side of Kate. Victoria is nearly blocked from my vision, but I can still smell her. Her scent is deep in my lungs, my mind feeling foggy and slowly filling with images that shouldn’t be there. Images I only ever indulge in when I’m stressed and alone in my room, when the rare need for release catches me. 

But they’re almost impossible to get out of my mind at the moment. I don’t like this feeling, like I don’t have control. This sort of situation is the whole reason I went on suppressants to begin with. I don’t want to be a mindless, instinct driven monster. 

“I wasn’t talking to you, you giant freak,” Victoria spits at Chloe, but the alpha doesn’t seem fazed. Not surprising, Chloe never takes Victoria seriously. 

“Oh, come on, Vic. I thought we were friends,” Chloe teases, her arms wrapped around Kate protectively. Victoria might not have told everyone that they were dating and she may have defended them from a few people, but she’s still very unkind to Kate and is still a massive bitch like ninety percent of the time. But, for some reason, as I watch her, I can’t help not really caring about any of that. 

“You and I are not friends and probably never will be. Now can I please have a moment to talk to Kate? Alone.”

Chloe sighs and kisses Kate’s cheek before letting her go. 

“Whatever, you’re no fun anyway. Don’t be too long, Max and I were enjoying the music.” Chloe walks back over to me and sits on the couch as I give Victoria a weak smile, not really sure how to get my face to make the right shapes. The door closes as Kate steps out and I let out a breath I didn’t realize I’d been holding, slouching back against the couch. 

“Jesus, Max, put out more horny stink, that’ll help,” Chloe grumbles as she opens her comic book again, obviously agitated. I blush and clenching the notebook on my lap self-consciously. 

“God, is it that obvious?” I ask quietly, hoping that Victoria can’t hear us through the door. 

“Dude, a dead dog could smell you from the other side of the country. What is wrong with you?” She asks me pointedly and I avoid her gaze, swallowing thickly. 

“She’s in heat.”

“No shit, thanks for pointing out things I already know,” Chloe almost growls and my brows furrow. I try to ignore the hurt in my chest, knowing that Chloe is probably just as affected as I am. 

“Sorry,” I mumble.

“Don’t be sorry, just ask her the fuck out already!” The other alpha shouts, her hands raised in exasperation as the door opens and Kate walks back in, giving Chloe a warning glance. My head whirls around and my eyes lock with Victoria’s almost instantly, like we’re being pulled towards each other by an unseen force. 

I’ve always thought that Victoria is beautiful and talented, but this… this is so much worse than a little crush. It feels like every inch of my skin is being set on fire and I have no way to put it out. Like Victoria is the only thing that can soothe the burning sensation that’s slowly starting to suffocate me. 

And then she smiles at me. 

_ Oh god. This is bad. This is worse than bad. This is death-con five amounts of bad. _

I clutch the notebook I’m holding so hard that I hear it start to rip and before I can even blink, Chloe is on her feet and standing between Victoria and I like a big, stinky wall of protective pheromones. I almost growl in frustration before I realize that Chloe isn’t protecting Victoria from me, she’s protecting  _ me  _ from Victoria. I swallow thickly and look away, trying to regain some scrap of control over my body before it melts. 

“So, how about an invite to that party you’ve got going on Friday night?” Chloe asks the short-haired omega, getting a scoff in response. 

“What?” Victoria snaps impatiently. I clench my fists, trying to breathe through my mouth instead of my nose.

I can’t push it away, I can’t make it stop. My entire body feels full to bursting, like I might scream if I dare try to speak. I’ve never felt this way before and it’s terrifying. I can feel sweat starting to drip down the back of my neck and I know that I must be smelling up a storm in poor Kate’s dorm. Even Alice is cowering in her little hutch. 

_ I need to get the hell out of here. _

I don’t hear anything anyone is saying until Chloe is sitting beside me again, looking smug as hell as she leans back against the couch. 

“It should stave off a good amount of the usual symptoms, but it won’t be as good as the pill. If you need more, I’m stocked up,” I hear Kate explaining just as Chloe yells her own response. 

“Not that she needs it!” The other alpha says with a grin and I elbow her in the ribs, getting a grunt of surprised pain from my taller friend and I give her a look. Kate loves Chloe and trusts her in a way I’ve never seen Kate trust anyone. The last thing she needs is Chloe bragging about their sex life. 

But Kate takes it in stride, ignoring her girlfriend as best she can as she focuses on Victoria again. 

“Thanks. I… I owe you one.”

Did Victoria Chase just stutter? I look at her again, seeing how vulnerable she looks. She must really be in dire straits right now. 

For some reason, that only makes my issue worse. I want to protect her, I want to soothe her and give her what she needs. I want to give her body what it craves. I shudder and look away, realizing that I’m shaking as well as sweating now. 

I feel like I’m suffocating.

“I’ll live. I just hope everyone else can keep their stuff in their pants,” Victoria says and I look up at her again, inhaling her scent without even considering what it might do to me. 

_ Jesus, she smells so good. She’s staring right at me and I can’t even move. How the hell does she do this to me? _

“Thanks again. See you later.” She says before taking a step back from the door. Kate says something I can’t hear and closes the door, letting out a slow, deep sigh before looking at me. 

“Geez, Max, are you ok?” The honey-haired omega asks, pulling me from my thoughts a little as I meet her eyes. She looks… Irritated? It’s hard to tell, I haven’t seen her like this in a while. 

“Y-yeah, sorry,” I mumble, looking away from her. “I don’t know what got into me. I feel…” 

“Hard up? Randy? Ready to chew through a wall so you can bone the meanest human being on the face of planet earth?” Chloe supplies and I glare at her, but it’s weaker than usual, which isn’t saying much. 

“Chloe, that’s not fair. Max is an alpha just like you. Just because she’s on suppressants doesn’t mean that her body won’t respond to someone who’s going into heat. Especially someone she likes,” Kate scolds the taller alpha, picking up her violin. 

“I- don’t-“

“Max, it’s obvious,” Kate says gently, making me blush. “It’s fine. You’re allowed to like her. Victoria is driven, smart and beautiful, even if she can be mean. You deserve better, but I’m not going to tease you for liking her.” 

“I will,” Chloe volunteers and I laugh weakly, shaking my head as I cover my face with my hands. 

“God, you guys are the worst,” I groan into my palms, getting a playful nudge from Chloe. 

“You know you love us,” she says teasingly and I sigh, leaning back against the couch. 

“What am I gonna do? I can’t be around her when she’s like this, but I still have to function in school somehow,” I say to the ceiling, knowing that I’ll get advice from my friends no matter what I do or don’t say, especially from Chloe. 

“Maybe just up your dose?” Chloe suggests and I sigh, shaking my head. 

“Can’t, it’s already higher than average,” I tell her, getting a surprised eyebrow raise in response. 

“My first rut was a little scarring, ok?” I remind her and she nods, seeming to soften considerably. 

“You could ditch for a few days,” Kate says from across the room, surprising Chloe and I in equal measure. We stare at her in stunned silence and she laughs, rolling her eyes. “I’ve done it more times than you’d think. Just say that you’re sick. You probably have a fever right now just from smelling Victoria at all, the nurse would believe you.” 

“I never thought Kate Marsh would suggest lying,” I say teasingly and she shrugs, smiling mischievously. 

“What can I say? Your best friend is corrupting me,” she replies with a wink at Chloe, who looks all too pleased. 

“That’s my girl,” she says affectionately, getting to her feet and walking over to the smaller girl. She pulls Kate into her arms and kisses her in a way I know I’m not supposed to see, so I pack up my things. 

“You guys are nasty, I’m leaving,” I say with a laugh, slinging my bag over my shoulder. “Let me know when you’re done procreating. I’ll be in my dorm.” 

“Hey, I might be nasty, but I am  _ not  _ sloppy,” Chloe protests and I make a fake gagging noise. 

“Bye!” I call to them before walking out of Kate’s dorm and closing the door. I sigh, making the very short walk back to my dorm. I open my door and breathe in the familiar scents of my own space before closing and locking my door. I set my stuff on the floor and immediately plop down on my bed, burying my face in my blankets to hopefully block out Victoria’s scent with my own familiar one. But it doesn’t really work. 

She’s locked in my lungs now, like a memory of a smell that I know I’ll never be able to forget. My body won’t let me forget. 

I spend almost an entire two hours struggling to finish my stupid paper, but my mind keeps wandering to Victoria. I keep seeing her face, hearing her voice, inhaling her scent deep into my lungs. I can’t escape. 

I pace around for a while, trying my best to ignore the ache between my legs and the burning deep in my gut. This is almost as bad as my first rut. Almost. 

No omega has ever made me feel this way and I’ve been around plenty of them. Most of my close friends growing up were omegas and I’ve been around Kate while she’s been in heat like a million times. Sure, I had small moments of instinct driven confusion, but not much more than that. Maybe it’s because Kate is my friend and Victoria is… 

Well, I don’t even know really. She’s a mystery. One minute she hates me, the next she’s smiling at me and projecting her pheromones at me like she wants me to bend her over and-

_ Nope, don’t even go there. _

But it’s an exercise in self control like no other to  _ not _ think of her like that. Especially when I remember how she’d stared at me in class earlier today. 

Maybe that’s why she’d acted so weird. She was already starting her heat and I… God, I ran right into her and made her feel all conflicted. 

I groan and go to my stereo, turning up the music to a volume I normally wouldn’t for risk of annoying my across the hall neighbor who is quickly becoming the center of my stupidly horny little universe. 

But the music does little to soothe me. It’s not what I want to hear. 

My phone buzzes on my desk and I walk over to it, picking it up to see the name that I’ve been thinking about for the entire fucking day and I nearly throw the little device out my window out of fear. 

_ Is she reading my mind or something? How did she even get my number? _

I swallow around my tongue and open the text, my heart racing against my ribs so hard that I’m sure she can hear it across the hall and through both of our doors. 

_ Unknown Number: hi, its Victoria _

I frown down at my phone, glancing around my room nervously. I can’t help feeling like I’m being fucked with. How’d she even get my number?

_ Sent: hey, what’s up? _

That sounds casual, right? Yeah. Casual. God, save me, this is the worst day of my entire life. I add her contact into my phone and sit down in my desk chair, waiting impatiently for a reply. 

_ Victoria: what are you doing on Friday night? _

“What?” I whisper to my empty room, staring at the phone like it might bite me. 

_ Sent: nothing probably. Why? _

_ Victoria: you wanna come to the party with me?  _

I type out my reply before I can think twice about it, feeling a lot like I’m standing in the middle of a hidden camera show. 

_ Sent: What? Why? _

I immediately regret sending something so stupid. 

_ Victoria: fine, if I’m that repulsive to you, nvm.  _

My heart races so hard that I feel like I might throw up, my gut dropping out inside me. 

_ Victoria: just forget it. Fucking loser.  _

_ Sent: come on, you shouldn’t be surprised that I’m kind of confused. Just this morning you were making fun of me. You haven’t been anywhere near descent to me since the day we met.  _

I can’t tell if it’s my wounded pride trying to bite back or if my brain cells are just dying off in droves as I type, but I feel like pulling the truth out of Victoria. I want to know why the hell she suddenly cares so much about me, why she smiled at me, why she was scenting for  _ me  _ when I ran into her this morning. I know it’s probably just her heat, but there has to be more to it than that. She wasn’t drooling all over Chloe and she’s a much more suitable alpha than I am. Almost every omega Chloe glances at swoons and here I am being called to by all of Victoria’s intense, fiery pheromones and now she’s acting like she hates her. 

_ Victoria: whatever asshat. Don’t bother breathing near me anytime soon _

I glare down at my phone, clenching my fist so hard that I’m sure the expensive device will crack under the pressure. 

I want to yell at her, ask her what the fuck her problem is and why she’s acting so fucking wishy-washy all of a sudden. 

But I don’t. Because I’m a coward. And I don’t want her to hate me. 

I go to bed that night after hours of staring down at my journal, debating whether or not to scribble out everything I wrote about her. In the end, I settle for tossing and turning through the night and waking up just as hard as I had been when I'd gone to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading and have an awesome day!


	3. Chapter Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Victoria helps Taylor talk to her crush - for a price of course - and then she tries taking Taylor's advice for once.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey Friends! I wrote things! Thank you for your patience, it's always appreciated. Hopefully this long as frick chapter helps make up for my lack of writing energy.

Victoria’s POV

Sitting through my morning class is pure torture. How is this shit even fair? How is this teacher allowed to drone on and on and on for what feels like fucking forever when all I can think about is anything that isn’t this stupid Shakespeare play? 

Luckily, the last pill I had is stopping most of the more intense symptoms of my heat. On the down side, it isn’t a high enough dose to keep me from being about as irritable as a pissed off rattlesnake. Not to mention that my entire body feels like it’s on fire. My cashmere and button up are too hot, the classroom is stuffy and breathing feels like a straining activity that shouldn’t be so damn hard. 

It doesn’t help that having Max around seems to make all of those symptoms either ten times worse or makes them fade away completely. 

Unfortunately, she’s making them worse at the moment. 

She’s sitting a few rows behind me and I can feel her eyes on me, making the hair on the back of my neck rise and my gut fill with molten desire. I wish she’d just stop fucking staring at me, but I know she won’t. She probably doesn’t even notice that her eyes have been drilling a hole into my back since the start of class. Hell, she might not even be staring at me, she might just be spacing out in my general direction which somehow makes this all so much more unbearable. 

After last night’s little text conversation, all I can think about how she basically rejected me. How she said that I’ve never been halfway decent to her. 

That can’t be true. Can it? 

I’ve sulked over it for nearly ten hours now and I can’t help wondering if she’s right. What if the way I’ve been treating her is more cruel than neutral?

I can’t say that I didn’t mean to treat her that way, but it’s not like I have much of a choice. I sigh to myself, staring out the window again as the discomfort of guilt starts to fill me. 

I have to stop lying to myself. 

I’ve been a bitch to Max since day one. I can’t help myself. She’s so infuriating. All she does is sit there all perfect and sweet and she’s so good with a camera and she doesn’t even have to try. She doesn’t need the thousand dollar camera or the expensive lighting or perfect models or any of that shit. 

Instead, she just points and shoots and it’s like she’s pulling gold out of her perfect little ass. She doesn’t even have to try. 

It’s not fair. I have to claw and struggle and fight for every inch of ground I gain on her and  _ it’s not fucking fair.  _

I spend the rest of the morning sulking. Stewing over what the hell I’m going to do. 

“How am I going to fix this?” I ask Taylor at lunch as she munches happily on her cob salad, looking content and not at all uncomfortable. Lucky bitch. I feel like I’m melting under the bright sun. 

“What’s there to fix?” she says as she stares off at that gay freak, Stephanie. I sigh and roll my eyes, picking up a piece of lettuce that Taylor dropped while daydreaming and throwing it at her stupid face. 

“Can you focus please? You sound like you’ve been dropped on your head.”

“And you sound like you need a good railing,” she snaps back and I glare at her, surprised. She sighs and shrugs her shoulders. “I’m sorry. Why are you so uptight today? Did something happen?” 

“I texted Max and asked her to come to the party on Friday and she full on rejected me,” I explain, laying my head on my hands on top of the table.

“What? Vic, are you insane? You know Max thinks you hate her, right?” 

“I know, I know! But how do I fix it?” I ask desperately, looking into Taylor’s sympathetic eyes. 

“I don’t know? Maybe try not being a bitch to her for starters,” she says and I scowl at her. “You know I’m right. Just try being nice to her and see what happens.” 

“That’s shitty advice,” I grumble and she rolls her eyes, looking back at the massive nerd-herd that’s gathered around Stephanie. Max is among them, smiling and laughing with everyone as they play that stupid nerd game with all the dice and little figurines. I watch as Max picks up a dice and rolls it, hollering excitedly as Stephanie says something emphatically that I can’t hear. 

I pause, an idea forming inside my brain as I watch my best friend going all moony-eyed over the auburn haired alpha that’s still sporting that lame beanie even though it’s a million degrees out. I smirk, placing my elbow on the table and then my chin on my palm, staring at the pair of alphas as my idea turns into a plan. 

“So… are you planning to ask her out? Or should I kick her off the party list?” I ask the blond across from me and she stiffens, glaring at me suspiciously. “What? I’m just trying to help you out. We all need to get laid sometimes.” 

“I… I don’t want to get laid,” she mumbles and I furrow my brows at her. 

“Are you serious?”

“It’s just a crush, ok? Plus, she was like head over heels for Rachel Amber before she left, so I have no chance anyways,” Taylor elaborates and I can’t help bristling. Rachel Amber doesn’t hold a candle to my best friend. 

“That stupid nerd would be jizzing her pants right now if she knew you were staring at her,” I say firmly and Taylor blushes, laughing in surprise. 

“I don’t think so. She doesn’t even know I exist,” she says in this defeated way that makes my heart ache. I hate that she thinks that. I take her hand and look into her eyes, making sure that she’s actually listening. 

“Then we’ll make her know. Because she’s not good enough for you and we need her to know it, don’t we?” I say with a grin and Taylor smiles, shaking her head as she squeezes my hand and lets it go. 

“Shut up and eat your lunch. Your body needs food right now,” she scolds me gently and I take a bite of my lettuce wrap, swallowing it and wiping my face off before speaking again. 

“I’m serious, Sweet-T. You deserve to be liked just as much as anyone else. How about this? Max thinks you’re an ok person. If you talk me up to her, I’ll figure out a way for you to get Stephanie’s attention,” I say as she gives me a look like she doesn’t quite believe me. 

“Vic, it’s seriously not a big deal,” she says softly, a bit more confidence fading from her eyes. I bristle and give her a look. 

“It is a big deal and we’re going to take care of this right now,” I insist as I put all my stuff into my bag and grab Taylor by her elbow, hauling her to her feet and dragging her towards the dorms. “Come on. We need to get you into something sexy.” 

“Sexy?” My beta friend asks and I sigh, wrapping my arm around hers as we make our way past the group of nerds that are still playing their little game. I can feel Max’s eyes on me as I walk by so I turn to look at her, putting on my best secretive smile and waving my fingers at her. She blushes and gives me a lame little wave that only doubles the stupid butterflies in my stomach. It’s adorable how mousey she is sometimes. I swear, it drives me insane. But I keep walking, feeling her eyes on me. 

It sends a thrill through me to know that she’s looking at me and I can’t help putting a little extra sway into my step. My omega feels satisfied with the attention, but not completely. I want more than just a stare from Max. 

“Yep. Something so jaw-droppingly hot that she can’t help drooling all over you,” I explain. We get to Taylor’s room with about half an hour left of lunch. It takes me fifteen minutes for me to pick out exactly what Taylor needs. 

“Vic, I don’t know. You don’t think this is a bit much?” The beta asks me as she looks herself over in the mirror. It’s a tight, knitted dress that stops at her mid thigh and shows off her shoulders. I fix her hair, brushing it out to hang over her shoulders. The black fabric hangs off of her in a way that makes me smile because she’s so much more beautiful than she thinks she is. 

“Nope, it’s perfect,” I say as I have her turn around and apply some mascara to her lashes and do some more little things to make sure she feels as good as she looks. “There. Now, for the plan.” 

“Plan? Really?” Taylor asks with a bemused look on her face. 

“Yep. You’re going to walk over to that group of geeks and you’re going to talk to Max,” I tell her and her brows furrow. 

“What? I thought I was going to talk to Stephanie,” she says softly. 

“You will, but not yet. We need to show her that you mean business first,” I explain, sighing when she still looks unsure. “Do you want her to notice you?” She nods. “Do you want to feel confident in talking to her?” Another nod. “Then grow a pair and show her that  _ she _ needs to chase after  _ you _ . Not the other way around.” 

She sighs and looks herself over in the mirror, slowly seeming to grow a bit more fond of the look we’ve put together. 

“Fine. What do I say to Max?” She asks me and I grin. 

“Just talk to her, ask her how she’s doing, the usual.” 

“And you want me to talk you up, right?” She asks and I nod, putting my hands on my hips. 

“Yes. Just… don’t mention the texts or anything, ok?” I say softly and she smiles, bumping her arm with my elbow as we look at our own reflections. 

“Deal,” she replies and I smile, getting my confidence back in gear. 

When we walk back towards the quad students are still eating and chatting. I check my phone. We’ve got ten minutes. Hopefully that’s enough. 

“Stick to the script,” I say to Taylor as she straightens the dress she’s wearing, looking a little green. 

“Vic, I’m really not sure that this is the best idea…” 

“Shut up and sack up,” I snap impatiently and she laughs sharply. 

“That’s rich coming from the omega who won’t even talk to the alpha she likes,” Taylor grumbles and I glare at her, crossing my arms over my chest. 

“That’s different and you know it. She hates me.” 

Taylor keeps her mouth shut but I see her roll her eyes. She takes a deep breath and shakes herself a little, giving me a vulnerable look. 

“Promise I look ok?” She says softly and I sigh, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear. 

“You look amazing. If you were my type, we wouldn’t even be having this discussion right now. Now get out there and hit on Max,” I say, shoving her gently in the general direction of the table of nerds. They aren’t even looking in our direction, which is good. We have the element of surprise. 

Taylor sighs heavily before standing to her fullest height, putting on her signature “I’m sexy and I’m not going to hide it” swag and I grin, sitting as far away as I can handle. 

_ I really hope this works. _

Taylor’s POV

I sway my hips as I walk, trying to put a hypnotizing side-to-side to my step the way Victoria always does. It’s a lot harder than it should be. Maybe that’s because I’m walking towards a table covered in people I know see me as nothing more than Victoria Chase’s goon. I swallow thickly and, as I get closer, heads start to look up. Stephanie looks up and my heart stutters into a racing pace. 

I swear I see the alpha’s bright blue eyes widen when she sees me and I can’t help the thrill that shudders through me. She likes what she sees, I can feel it. She licks her lips and I have to look away, remembering the plan. Max is my target here. 

_ Stephanie has to chase you, not the other way around. Leave her wanting more and I can guarantee you that she’ll come running to you by the end of the week. _

I walk up behind Max, feeling Stephanie’s eyes locked on me as I tap the small alpha’s shoulder. Max looks up, smiling before her eyes go wide and she looks me over. It’s appreciative but not suggestive and I can’t help feeling grateful for that. Max really isn’t the type to objectify anyone, but she’s still an alpha. At least according to Victoria. 

“Wow, Taylor, you look really nice,” Max says and I smile, blushing a little. I can’t help glancing at Stephanie, her eyes still wide. She’s really staring openly at me. It’s insane. 

“Thanks, Max. I wanted to ask you something,” I say, trying to remember what Victoria told me to say. “Are you coming to the party tomorrow night?” 

“I don’t think Victoria would want me there,” Max says nervously and I almost bust up laughing. 

_ Poor, naive little Max. You don’t even know the half of it. _

“She said it was ok. I wanted to invite you and a couple of friends to come along. Maybe Chloe and Kate can come,” I suggest, a strange, new scent reaching my nose. I look up and see Stephanie almost burrowing a hole through Max’s skull. Max seems to notice because she clears her throat and smiles awkwardly. 

“Th-that would be fun. Can Stephanie come too?” She asks and I can’t hide my smile, letting my gaze linger on the beanie wearing alpha across the table from Max. 

“Sure. Maybe you can tell me more about this game you guys are always playing,” I say and I swear that Stephanie is about ready to jump over the table. Alphas are all so typical, but I can tell that Stephanie is different somehow. She’s not quite as oblivious as Max, but also not quite as outspoken and brash as Chloe. And she isn’t sticking up a storm like Nathan always does. 

“I’d love to,” Stephanie says stiffly, smiling at me like she’s not used to smiling. I smile back, hoping that it looks as good as it feels to have someone I like actually falling for such a dumb “trick.” 

“Alright, I’ll see you guys there,” I say as I start to step away. “Thanks, Max.”

“Y-yeah, no problem,” the thin girl stammers softly, obviously not sure how to react to Stephanie’s suddenly insanely dominant scent. I grin as I walk away, feeling Stephanie’s eyes on me as I sway my hips, feeling much, much better. 

Victoria’s POV

“You’re a genius!” Taylor squeals as she hurries back over to me, the bell ringing for everyone to head to their next class. I smirk and lift my chin a bit. 

“Of course I am,” I say matter of factly. “Now tell me everything.” 

Taylor gives me the play-by-play as we walk to class and I can’t help feeling a weird mixture of excitement and jealousy. Max is coming, but she doesn’t think I want her there. Taylor got Stephanie’s attention, but Max still doesn’t care that I exist. I’m happy for my friend, don’t get me wrong, but I can’t help the ache that fills my chest. 

I saw how Stephanie just full on stared at Taylor like she was the sun and moon and the stars all wrapped into one. 

_ Why do I care if Max looks at me like that? Why should it make a difference? _

I sit through my last class before photography, barely hearing anything my teacher says. I don’t really care. All I can do is remember Max and her stupid face when she was looking at me yesterday, how dumbfounded she’d looked when the scent of my heat had reached her. I wish she’d look at me like that again. But instead, I ruined it. Like some kind of fucking moron, I’d snapped when she asked me why I wanted to go anywhere with her. 

She’s not wrong, this situation is confusing and I’m the one who made it that way. Max has never been anything but nice to me and all I’ve done is be a bitch. 

Maybe Taylor is right. If I just… try being nice. I almost shiver at the thought. How am I supposed to be nice? It feels like I’ve literally trained the trait out of my brain. 

But can you blame me? 

I’ve spent so much of my life trying to get to the status I’m at here at Blackwell. I was nowhere near as popular and had no power earlier in my school career. I was the nerd. The rich kid who was ugly and stupid and didn’t try hard enough. 

I can almost hear my mother’s voice in my head, telling me to try harder, study more. 

_ We’re not spending all this money on a tutor to have you fail. _

I shake my head, trying to regain some control over my thoughts. It’s difficult when the only other things to think about are the boring ass lecture my teacher is spewing or the way Max looked at Taylor in that dress. 

I nearly snap my pen in half at the memory, the plastic creaking unhappily in my hand. Trying to relax, I loosen my grip and stare diligently at the board, even though I have no idea what the words are that have been scribbled there. 

Sure, Max hadn’t drooled over my beta best friend the way Stephanie had, but  _ still _ . She’d looked dumbfounded and a bit… turned on? 

No. No way… 

But Taylor did look amazing and Max said yes to going to the party when she asked. I have to swallow hard to keep the growl I feel building in my chest at the thought from spilling over. I love Taylor, I love her like the sister I never had, but this… this tugs at something primal in me, something I’m not sure I like. 

I glance around the room, my fingers twitch as I reach into my bag and quickly grab my phone, holding it under my desk. I pull up Taylor’s text thread and start typing hurriedly. 

_ Sent: promise you only like that annoying board game nerd? _

_ Sweet-T: what are you talking about??? Is everything ok?  _

_ Sent: max was acting all stupid and she said yes to the party when you asked… _

_ Sweet-T: Vic, you know I like Steph. I would never step on your toes with Max, I swear.  _

I sigh a little, glancing around to make sure no one is staring at me. I can’t help feeling relieved. Taylor may not know it, but she could have anyone she wants. She’s pretty, smart and easy to get along with. Most people like her a lot more than they like me, which is something that usually doesn’t bother me. But the idea of Max liking Taylor even slightly more than she likes me - which I’m pretty sure at this point is not at all - is driving me insane. 

_ Sent: sorry, I’m just on edge _

_ Sweet-T: you need to let loose, you’re gonna rip someones throat out at this rate. I’m sure Max wouldn’t mind helping out with your heat. _

I blush, sinking a bit in my seat. I look around again, the coast is still clear. 

Not that I haven’t imagined Max and I… getting busy about a hundred times over the past twenty-four hours, but the real thing is different. Even if every ounce of my being wants to mate and much more, that doesn’t mean it’s the smart choice. I’ve avoided the situation previously for that exact reason. I don’t want to get in trouble for no good reason. STDs, pregnancy, and the vulnerability of mating with someone are all pretty good reasons to maybe think twice before bending over for someone else’s pleasure.

But when I think about Max, all of those reasons just become white noise. Especially right now and I don’t know why. I know that my heat is half of it, but even when I’m basically horny-bitch hormone free, Max feels weirdly safe. But she also makes me feel naked, like those deep grey eyes could stare straight into my soul and find all the broken parts I’ve tried so hard to hide. 

_ Maybe that isn’t the worst thing in the world, though _ , I think to myself as the bell rings, signaling that it’s time for the last class of the day. 

_ Maybe being vulnerable isn’t the end of the world. Maybe, if the person is safe and kind and gentle then I don’t have to be so worried. _

“Hey, Vic,” Taylor greets me and I jump, realizing that I’ve nearly walked right into her on my way to my locker, our usual meetup spot before photography class. 

“Hey,” I say with a sigh, opening my locker and putting away all the books I don’t need. “I’m sorry about before. I really just need to relax.”

“You know how some people choose to relax?” Taylor asks and I roll my eyes, walking past her towards the classroom. 

“If you tell me to have sex one more time, I will punch you right in the throat,” I grumble, but I can’t help smiling. As much as Taylor gets on my nerves sometimes, she has good intentions. I have a feeling that she’s mostly saying it to make me laugh, but she’s suggested it an awful lot today. “Plus, I’m pretty sure there’s no one in the entire state of Oregon that I want to sleep with right now.” 

“Lies,” Taylor scoffs and I give her a warning glare. “Whatever, Queen Bee. We both know who you want to sleep with.”

“Yeah, fat chance of that,” I sigh as we walk into the class. We go to our usual seats and I put my camera on my desk. I want to start snapping shots as people walk in, but I resist the urge. I know that Max will walk in any second now and take it the wrong way and that’s the last thing I need today. 

I can already feel the suppressants wearing off. I thought I was hot before, now I’m sweating like crazy. I squirm in my seat and stare at the front board, tapping my pen on my planner. I still haven’t written that stupid paper. But what the hell am I supposed to write? 

_ My muse is making enough money to get the fuck out of my parent’s house and live life on my own where no one can tell me what to do and nothing controls my destiny but me.  _

“Good afternoon, class!” Mr. Baker greets us as he walks into the room. There are a few murmured replies, but everyone sounds exhausted. This entire week has been insane and everyone is feeling it. It’s like we all know that the weekend will be a welcome relief from the pressure of daily life. 

Mr. Baker is half way through explaining that today will be a study period for us to work on our papers, which is nice. I’ll hopefully be able to focus for a minute. I know that I won’t be able to keep my head on straight once school lets out. I’ll lock myself in my room, eat a carton’s worth of coffee ice cream and watch something I haven’t already binged on CrunchyRoll while chugging more of that tea Kate gave me. 

I should send her a thank you note or something. One of the only decently useful things my mother taught me growing up: sending a good thank you note is better than actually saying thank you. Plus, saying thank you to someone in person is so weird and uncomfortable. If you just send them a card with your signature and some made up pleasantries about how they helped you out, then you don’t owe them anything. 

But I have a feeling that I won’t be able to stand not returning the favor when it comes to Kate. She’s too nice and has slowly started to become more and more popular since she and Chloe started dating. The alpha has really pushed Kate out of her shell in ways I didn’t think were possible. 

The classroom door opens and I look up, having been staring uselessly at my notebook. Max walks in, panting a little as she looks to see Mr. Baker giving her a lifted brow and a curious look. 

“You alright, Max?” He asks and she nods, laughing nervously. 

“Yeah, sorry, Mr. Baker,” she replies, walking past me to get to her seat. When she passes me, I can’t help taking a slow, deep inhale. Something is… different. Sharp, almost spiced, her scent swirls inside my lungs and fills my head and I nearly moan at the feeling of it. I can feel my heat slowly starting to take over all of my higher functions, but I don’t care, not when she smells like that. 

I look over my shoulder at her and she glances up at me, giving me a very small, nervous smile. I smile back and a blush covers the shorter girl’s cheeks. 

“Alright, go ahead and talk amongst yourselves and try to get this paper done for tomorrow,” Mr. Baker says, chatter erupting into a pleasant din around me. I turn around and try to focus on my paper, but it’s rather difficult when I can feel Max’s eyes on me still. 

“Do you have a muse, Vic?” Taylor asks me, a bit oblivious to what just went on between Max and I. Not that I mind. The last thing I need is the beta pestering me about being nice or whatever the hell her new theory is. 

“I don’t know,” I say without thinking, sighing heavily. I wish I was anywhere but here. Anywhere but here with Max. Maybe just us, all alone. Somewhere safe and warm and private so that we could just have some peace and quiet. 

I shake my head, swallowing a groan of frustration. Those are just my omega instincts talking. I know how this shit works, I’m not stupid. I won’t let my stupid monkey brain trick me into finding a nice cozy breeding spot with Max Caulfield of all people. 

“Are you ok?” My friend asks and I smile thinly at her. 

“Yep.” 

She grins at me and glances over my shoulder, her grin turning into a smirk. 

“I think someone is staring a hole into the back of your head,” she whispers and I clench my fists, glancing over my shoulder at Max. She blushes and quickly looks away, focusing her attention on her notebook. I turn forward and groan softly, burying my face in my hands. 

“This is unbearable,” I whine and Taylor laughs, touching the side of my shoe with hers. 

“Just go talk to her,” she says quietly and I furrow my brow at my blond friend, pressing my sweating palms together. 

“Are you stupid or something?” I growl and she rolls her eyes, still smiling. 

“Fine, whatever. But when she finds someone else to mess around with, you’ll wish you’d taken my advice and just tried talking to her like a normal human being instead of being a horny little goblin full of bitterness,” she says with a satisfied grin, leaning back in her chair and scribbling away in her notebook. I almost want to slap that smug smile off her face. 

But she’s right. If Max found someone else, I’d probably be a bit broken up over it for a while. I sigh, getting to my feet as I glare at Taylor. She looks up at me with a bit of shock on her face and I roll my eyes. 

“Shut up. I’m not doing this because of you,” I grumble before I grab my notebook and my pen and walk over to Max’s table. 

The chestnut haired girl stares up at me in surprise, a small, shy smile on her face. 

“H-hey, Victoria,” she stammers and my heart follows the stutter as she wraps her lips around my name like that. Goddamnit, why am I doing this? 

“How’s your paper going?” I ask her as nonchalantly as I can manage, deciding that I need to stay standing. If I sit down, I’ll be on her level and I’m not sure I can stand that right now. I need some form of control. 

“I have a start, but it’s not much to go on,” she replies, laughing nervously. She pulls out the chair beside her. “You can sit if you want. I’d love to get your advice.” 

I examine the smaller girl for a moment, looking at the chair she’s pulled out. 

_ What’s her angle? She rejects me and then suddenly wants to be all buddy-buddy? But isn’t that kind of what I’m doing? _

“If you have anything written down, I’m sure it’s better than what I’ve got,” I say in what I hope is in a more joking than depressing sort of way. Max shakes her head, a smile on her face that has me wondering how the hell I’m ever supposed to get rid of the butterflies wreaking havoc in my gut. 

“To be fair, it’s kind of a weird prompt for a paper. I had to Google what a muse even is before I started writing,” she replies, smiling at me and sliding her notebook over to me from across the table. I take it and my heart flutters against my ribs. It’s the same notebook that she always writes in. The one she was scribbling in just yesterday. 

Curiosity hits me like a ton of bricks. What sort of stuff does Max write about? Does she write songs? Poems? Stories? 

“Yeah, totally lame,” I manage to finally say, smiling stiffly as I barely resist the urge to flip through the thin, faded pages. I wonder how long she’s had this thing. She writes in it everyday, I’ve never seen her without it. I look down at the page in front of me and start reading without saying anything else. I’m not sure what else to say. Max is being so normal, like we’ve always had this quiet back and forth. 

When, in reality, this is the nicest I’ve been to her since the day we met. I nearly cringe at the thought. 

_ Come on, focus, _ I scold myself, putting my brain back on the task at hand. 

Max’s paper is written in a way that I never would’ve expected. The language is flowery, almost poetic and the way she writes about how moved she is by light and color and candid moments is… it’s enrapturing. It’s beautiful. 

There are a few misspelled words, some missing commas and a run on sentence. But other than that, it’s nearly perfect. 

“So?” Max asks when she sees that I’m finished, a nervous smile on her face. My heart almost breaks at that look. Her scent is soft, her eyes shimmering with anticipation and I can’t get over how it makes me want to jump over the table and kiss that adorable smile right off her freckled face. 

“It’s…” I pause, feeling like most of the air has just left my lungs. “It’s better than I expected.” I clutch the notebook in my hands, holding back a groan of frustration. I’m supposed to be acting nice and friendly and here I am insulting her again. 

But then Max is laughing and it pulls me back from the agonizing embarrassment that comes with being such an unforgivably stupid human being. 

“That’s higher praise than I ever could’ve expected,” Max says in a fun little teasing way that makes my face feel warm and my shoulders feel loose. “Any pointers? Anything I should change?”

“Just a few grammar things,” I reply, grabbing the red pen from beside Max’s hand and taking off the cap. “I’ll circle them and write down a few suggestions.” 

“Thanks, Victoria,” Max says and I lick my lips, trying not to read too much into the slight husky tone in the alpha’s voice. Her scent is still so intense, rich and intoxicating and God, that smile. That adorable, sweet smile that makes my heart do summersaults. 

“Yeah, no problem,” I reply, doing my best to keep my hand from shaking as I circle the errors I see and then scribble down a few pointers. I’ve always prided myself on my essay writing abilities. I write it, rewrite it, edit, and rewrite again until it’s spotless. A clean cut, perfect piece of writing that would get an A in any class ever. 

When I’m done, I hand Max back her notebook. When she takes the pen, her slender fingers brush over mine and we both pull our hands away like they’re on fire. I swallow around my tongue and barely manage a smile that hurts more than it should. 

_ What is wrong with me? _

Max drops her notebook, laughing nervously as she motions to it like it’s just cut her off on the freeway. I laugh with her and lean down to pick it up, turning it over in my hand and seeing a sketch that nearly has my heart skipping its way right up my throat. 

“I-is that me?” I ask softly, gasping when Max takes the notebook out of my hand, closing it and shoving it into her bag. 

“No,” she says firmly, her face redder than a tomato on a hot Summer day. “Nope. So, how are you feeling? Last night you seemed kinda on edge.” 

I feel my shoulders and jaw go tight at her words, my fists clenching on top of my thighs. 

“I’m not on edge,” I snap and Max’s expression goes from embarrassed to resigned in less than a second, her eyes softening with hurt. 

“If you say so,” she grumbles, avoiding my gaze and reaching into her bag. She pulls out a different notebook, the one she uses in our morning class together. I worry my bottom lip and look away for a moment, fighting my natural instinct to be a massive bitch in response to Max’s wimpy, very un-alpha-like behavior. 

“I…” The apology won’t come out. It’s stuck half way up my throat, like my very tongue is unable to form the word. So I settle for a different route. “Look,” I say with a sigh, folding my hands and putting them on the table as I meet Max’s questioning eyes. 

“I know that I’ve been a bitch. I know that I’m not a nice person or a good person. And I know that you probably hate me or just don’t even care about me at all, but I…” I pause, glancing around to make sure no one is listening before I continue, leaning a little closer over the table. I can’t help noticing how Max’s eyes are drawn to my chest and I vaguely remember having undone a few of the buttons on my button up before class, my cashmere draped over the back of my chair back at my usual seat. I ignore the need to comment on the very adorably alpha way Max’s eyes widen as they lock onto my cleavage. 

_ God help me, what I wouldn’t give to savor this moment for all it’s worth. _

“I want to try and be friends. Is there any way that you and I can try and just… you know, start over?” I ask quietly and Max’s eyes shoot up to meet mine, the shimmering silvery-blue taking my breath away. When I try to breath again, all I get is Max’s scent which is even stronger now than it was when she walked into class earlier. 

_ She must have run out of suppressants or something. Or maybe she’s… No, she can’t be in rut.  _

Alpha’s taking suppressants as strong as the ones Max is taking rarely go into rut, if ever. If she was going into rut, her scent would be ten times more overwhelming. Right?

“Y-you want to be friends?” She asks me quietly, her voice sounding tight. 

“I would… I would like to get to know you better,” I manage to admit, bristling a bit at how surprised Max looks, her eyebrows raised so high that I’m sure this moment alone will give her wrinkles. Stupidly adorable wrinkles on her stupidly adorable face. 

“I mean… ok. I’d like that too,” she replies and I can’t help smiling. Max smiles back and my heart flips, sending a jolt between my legs as it does so. This heat is going to kill me and it’s all Max Caulfield’s fault. 

“Really?” I ask without thinking, feeling a bit like I’ve been smacked sideways. And then Max just keeps on smiling and I lose more and more hope in my ability to stay cool and calm under pressure.

“Yeah, really,” she replies with a small laugh, her cheeks turning a pretty shade of pink. “I think that you’re more than what you show to the rest of the world. I want to see what lies beneath the surface.” 

They’re just words, simple things that shouldn’t mean anything at all, but they do things to me that I’m not sure I want to unpack. It’s such an intimate statement and I feel thrown off balance by it. The intense shimmer of truth in Max’s eyes doesn’t help either. Not to mention the way her sweet smile has gone soft and sad around the edges. Because she means it. 

She wants to know me. 

“So I’ll see you at the party, then?” I ask, clearing my throat to keep the breathiness away. 

“Yeah, sure. Can Chloe, Kate and Stephanie still come?” She asks me, glancing over at Taylor over my shoulder. “Taylor said I could invite people.” 

“Yeah, that’s fine,” I tell her, standing up to walk away before I remember that Taylor is the only reason that this little run-in is going so well. I turn back to Max and lean forward again, gratified at how her eyes and cheeks go red all over again when I do so. “And could you tell that geek Stephanie to wear something nice? Taylor may think she’s cute, but the only way she’s dancing with your friend is if the nerd gets rid of that beanie.”

Max lets out a broken chuckle and clears her throat, avoiding my gaze before giving me a stiff nod. 

“Uh, yeah, sure, I’ll tell her.”

“Thanks, Maxine. See you around.” 

“Yeah, see ya,” she says softly as I turn away. A feel my smugness on my face as I go back to my seat and I revel in it. 

Maybe I can really do this whole friend. I just hope that Max’s little slip-ups are because she thinks I’m pretty, not just because she’s an alpha. 

I’d hate to get stuck in the friendzone. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading and have an awesome day!


	4. Chapter Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Victoria and Max have a "fight" and then Victoria tries to make it better with some new clothes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey friends, I'm sorry I've been MIA lately! I've been working on some new and exciting stuff for you lovely folks that I hope you'll enjoy! You can go to my Tumblr @blake-is-strange97 for more info on how to choose what you wanna see next! Thank you guys and please enjoy this chapter!

Max’s POV

“You’re kidding,” Kate says with a confused look on her face as she tries to process what I’ve just told her. “She seriously invited you to the party?” 

“That’s not the weird part here,” Steph cuts in, sitting beside me in a booth at the Two Whales, Kate and Chloe sitting across from us. Chloe is still trying to stop coughing, having started choking on water as soon as I’d spilled the beans. 

“The weird part is that Max actually said yes. Not once, but twice!” Steph continues and I glare at her, crossing my arms over my chest. 

“The first time it was Taylor who asked me and she’s nice! At least I had the balls to say something,” I grumble as I sink a bit against the booth. I know that it’s Victoria’s heat making me feel this way. Normally, an omega’s heat wouldn’t get to me this much, but something about that intoxicating scent and her burning green eyes just sends every carefully boxed instinct I have spiraling out onto the table for everyone to see. It almost feels like my suppressants aren’t working, but I know they are. This is just a side effect of being near an omega I actually feel attracted to while she’s in heat. Which sucks. 

I haven’t been able to think all day, no matter how hard I try. Everything’s jumbled with thoughts that I shouldn’t be allowing into my conscious mind, drowning out everything rational and logical. I wouldn’t be surprised if my entire day’s worth of class work is pure gibberish. 

“Wait, Taylor asked you? I thought she liked Steph,” Chloe manages to croak out, clearing her throat.

“She doesn’t like me,” Steph insists, her cheeks going red as she looks down at her half-finished plate of pancakes. “She likes Max, she made that pretty obvious.”

“You’re an idiot,” Chloe says as she nudges my foot under the table, giving me a look. I sigh and rub my face. 

“She likes you, trust me,” I say as I reach for my coffee and take a big swig. “She didn’t come over to our table dressed like that for my benefit.”

“Yeah because Queen Sticky Vicky herself would’ve chopped Taylor’s pretty little head off if she was caught hitting on Max,” Chloe says with a laugh and I feel my own face grow hot. 

“She would not,” I insist. 

“Would too,” Kate mutters and we all turn to her, my eyebrows lifted expectantly. The omega laughs and rolls her eyes. “Max, you’re so dense! She totally likes you. Why do you think she tortures you all the time?” 

“Because she tortures everyone,” I say a bit too loudly, disbelief filling me as I look amongst my friends. Steph is sipping her Coke and looking at me over the rim of her glass like she can see something I can’t. Chloe on the other hand is trying not to laugh and losing the fight. “Come on, you guys. Can we get back on topic here? Taylor likes Steph! This is good stuff!” 

“I mean, I’m a fan of it,” Steph says as she steals a fry from my plate. “But me sacking up and finally asking Taylor out on a date isn’t quite as interesting as the queen of the Blackwell It Crowd having a weird and slightly creepy, emotionally underdeveloped crush on you.” 

“She doesn’t have a crush on me. She’s just had a change of heart. She’s been nice to Kate lately and she even stopped Courtney from spreading rumors about her and Chloe,” I insist, feeling more and more tense by the minute. 

Victoria doesn’t like me. There’s no way. She’s just trying to change her colors a bit, that’s all. Why the hell would Victoria like me anyway? She’s smart, talented, driven, ambitious and meant for something greater. I mean, she’s also a massive bitch like ninety percent of the time, but that isn’t all there is to her. It can’t be. 

Why do I care so much? It’s not like we’re actually going to be friends. She was just saying that to be nice. 

But why the hell would Victoria of all people say something just to be nice to me? 

People like Victoria aren’t nice for no reason. She’s too high up in social ranking for that. Too pretty, too unattainable. God, when she gets that angry crease between her brows it makes me want to kiss her. I’ve never wanted to kiss anyone before, not really. At least, I don’t think so. I always thought I might be broken inside. And maybe I am, I don’t know. But, recently, Victoria has awakened something in me that no one else ever has. I don’t know if it’s a her thing or a me thing. I’ve just never felt… this before. I know when people are attractive, but no one has caught my eye the way Victoria does. She lights a fire in me that I’m not sure I’ll ever understand.

I don’t normally see people and think about them in the way other alphas do. No alpha, beta or omega has ever made me think the way Victoria makes me think. She makes me worry that I need a higher dose of suppressants which is pretty much impossible. They’ve already stunted my growth, made me about half as strong as the average alpha and killed my sex-drive. Not that I ever really had one. I started taking suppressants as soon as I presented at the age of thirteen.

I’ve always thought she was gorgeous. It’s an undeniable truth that Victoria Chase strives for perfection and attains it every goddamn day. It’s not only intimidating, but it’s also sort of fascinating. What possesses a person to put themselves through that every day? I’ll admit that I know what it’s like to want to look good, to want people to look at you the way people look at her, but I never thought that I would meet a person dedicated enough to that feeling to literally send ungodly amounts of time on that sort of daily preparation. 

“Hello? Earth to Max,” Chloe says as she waves a hand in front of my face, making me jump. 

“Christ, Chloe, what?” I growl impatiently, batting her hand away. 

“We were talking to you and you were massively spaced out,” Chloe says gently and I sigh, shaking my head.

“I’m fine. I just feel out of it, that’s all,” I explain softly, wrapping my fingers around the warm mug of coffee in front of me. “Can we move on from me for a bit? I’m not really up for the whole interrogation thing right now.” 

“Whatever, you’re so lame,” Chloe grumbles, picking a piece of bacon off of Kate’s plate. Kate smiles and rolls her eyes, stroking the alpha’s cheek affectionately with her knuckles. 

“She’s not lame. This is a weird situation,” Steph says and I sigh, sinking further into my seat. 

“Why are we still talking about it? Victoria is just having a change of heart, she’s figuring herself out. What’s the big deal? So what if she wants to be friends with me?” I ask firmly, looking around at my friends.

“Because people like Victoria Chase don’t just have a change of heart, Max,” Chloe insists, still chewing on her stolen piece of bacon. “There’s something going on here, I swear to you. You might not see it, but I do. She’s got some kind of ulterior motive.” 

“Whatever. Do you guys wanna go to the party or not?”

“Hell yeah,” Steph says as she takes a sip of her soda, smiling dreamily. Remembering Taylor in that short dress, no doubt. 

“Fine, but only because I wanna see Sticky Vicky grind all up on you. We all know that she wants some of your Max Mystery Meat,” Chloe teases and I almost choke on my coffee, coughing a little as Steph starts laughing so loud that people are looking at us like we’re a bunch of crazy teenagers. Which I guess we are, but still. 

“I’ll meet you guys outside the dorms at eight tomorrow night,” I say before nudging Steph to get out of the booth so I can leave. “I’m going to finish my paper so that I can think.”

“See you later, Maxipad!” Chloe calls after me and I sigh, shaking my head. A quiet bus-ride and some soft guitar riffs sound amazing right now. 

I put my headphones in and turn on some Syd Matters, feeling relief wash over me the instant the gentle music starts swimming through my head, floating back and forth between my earbuds. I walk to the bus stop, letting my mind drift and think about pretty much anything that isn’t Victoria. 

Except that my brain won’t let me think about anyone or anything else. Her hair, her eyes, her lips. The way she smiles at me. The way her whole face had gone hard and focused when she read over my paper. How soft and enticing her scent had been when those shimmering green eyes met my gaze. 

I sigh softly when the bus stops outside the school, grabbing my messenger bag and slinging it over my shoulder. I walk to the quad outside of the dorms, melting at the familiarity of what has been home for the past months. It’s not as good as coming home to my parents and our little house and our big, slobbery dog - Spot, because I was barely six when we got him from our neighbor as a house-warming gift. But it feels a bit like a home, anyway. 

I’m about halfway to the front door when someone’s hand lands on shoulder, making me practically jump out of my shoes, my heart racing as I whirl around to see a big, familiar smile. I sigh in relief and pull out the earbuds, smiling at Warren’s happy face. 

“Hey, Super Max! How are you? It’s been a while since we’ve had a chance to hang out,” he says and I smile back. Warren’s always been a friend. A good one. One of my best. But that’s all. 

Poor Warren. 

I can tell that he likes me. His scent is always stronger when he looks at me, an omega calling out to my instincts like a quiet cry from beneath waves of the suppressants pressing everything down. I don’t know why I’m not attracted to Warren. Sometimes I feel like I should be. He’s sweet, gentle, kind-hearted, an omega and a good friend. 

But when I look at him, I don’t see a man I can fall for. I’ve never seen anyone like that before. Until…

“So, I heard you and Victoria are starting to get along,” he says with an awkward cough and I realize with a blush that burns all the way up to my ears. 

“Oh, yeah,” I say softly, sighing heavily as I shove my hands into my pockets. “I don’t know if getting along is quite the right way to say it.”

“Why not?” He asks and I let out a slow puff of air, blowing my bangs out of my face as I try desperately to think past the way Victoria had looked at me today. Almost like things are different now that we’ve made a weird sort of truce. 

“I don’t know. I mean, things are better, but I don’t really know what it all means,” I tell him honestly and his features fall a little, his smile going from secretive to sullen. 

“Do you think she wants more? Than friendship, I mean.”

“Why does everyone keep asking me that?” I groan up towards the clouds and Warren shakes his head, laughing even though the sound is hollow. 

“I mean, you’re cool and pretty and a total whiz with a camera,” he tells me and my chest aches. He’s looking at me like we’re in a teen romance movie and he has something else to say that only the audience really knows. It hurts to look at because I wish I felt it too. I really do. 

What is wrong with me? Am I only into rich girls with horrible personalities?

But Victoria doesn’t have a horrible personality. She’s really sweet to Taylor and I’m pretty sure that she’s Nathan’s only real friend. Plus, she’s been nice to Kate lately. Nicer than I’ve ever seen her be to anyone else when she knows I’m watching. There’s more to her. More to all of this. There has to be. 

“I doubt that,” I finally say, smiling at my friend as he watches me, searching my face with his gaze. “She just wants to be friends. Ever since… well, you know.” And I know he does because he nods and I see the darkness that forms behind his eyes. Watching Kate on that roof changed all of us. You don’t tend to continue being a crappy person after something like that. Unless you’re messed up, anyway. “I think we’ve all learned that we need to be nicer people. Just because someone is nice doesn’t mean they like you that way.” 

“For all of our sakes, I hope you’re right,” Warren says with a bit more venom than I’m used to hearing from the normally mild-mannered omega. When I furrow my brows at him his cheeks go pink. I can’t help the strange, tight protectiveness that starts to constrict deep inside my gut. That same, instinctual weirdness that makes me feel like I’m going to lose my lunch all over my shoes. 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” The words come out without my permission, almost like I’m losing my weak hold on the alpha that’s started to grow stronger and stronger inside of me. It’s been slow, gradual. Like a storm brewing on the horizon. But every time Victoria so much as enters my thoughts, it flares brighter than the sun in a cloudless sky. 

And then Warren is pumping out submissive pheromones and my lips twitch, my nose wrinkling slightly. His scent has never made me react before now. Now it smells sour and stings inside my lungs. 

Not my omega.

Yeah, exactly, I scold myself internally. You don’t have one.

Victoria.

I shake my head, barely registering Warrens words as he grapples for something to placate me. 

“I-I just meant that, you know, she’s not… if she doesn’t get her way she can be… well, you know,” he finally stammers out. 

“Victoria doesn’t want me,” I snap and my friend flinches slightly. That sickening clenching is starting to grip at my guts and I have to breathe deeply to keep my instincts in check. “I gotta go. I’ll see you later.” 

“Ok,” I hear him mutter as I walk away and it takes a mountain of self control to keep myself from running away. 

This is ridiculous. Why am I so pent up? Why is every single fiber of my being vibrating with unresolved energy? 

I barely notice that I’m even walking down the hall to my room before my thoughts are somewhat back to a stable stream. Something bearable. I’m at my door when, once again, the stable stream is interrupted. 

Vanilla and a hint of cigarette smoke behind a blossom of expensive perfume and that voice that sends little thrills up and down my spine like a live wire. 

Goddamnit, can I get a single moment of peace?

“So,” that sweet, melodic choice says from behind me as I open the door to my room. “You seem to be getting awfully friendly with the Geek Squad.” 

“Warren is my friend,” I tell Victoria as I step into my room. The scent and the voice follow and I have to swallow a growl. “And if you and I are gonna be friends, then I hope you’ll be at least halfway decent to me.” 

The door closes with a definitive click and the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. I drop my bag on the bed and turn to look at Victoria with my arms crossed over my chest. It doesn’t make me feel as confident or safe as this same pose must make the blond feel, because she’s looking at me like she owns my damn soul. 

“Is that how you treat your friends? Or how you treat omegas? Snapping at them, being forceful and grouchy because it’s been awhile since you’ve had your dick sucked?” She asks sharply, her hands on her hips, her eyes fiery as she stares me down. On any other day, I’d be shaking in my tattered converse, sweating bullets. But not today. I step into her space, knowing that my scent is too strong and my fists are clenched too tight and I can barely see past the red haze of animal instincts. It’s so intense that I can’t bring myself to speak, only to stare up defiantly into those angry green flames. 

“Oh, big, bad alpha,” the omega growls down at me and I have to dig my nails into my palms to keep myself from grabbing her and… I don’t even know. Kissing her? Biting her neck? Pinning her to my bed and shutting that pretty little mouth while I-

Stop. Breathe. 

I take a slow, deep breath, backing away slowly. 

“What? Are you scared or something? One minute you’re stinking up a storm and then next you’re acting like a weak, dickless moron.”

“Stop,” I growl out, wishing my voice wouldn’t come out so deep and dangerous sounding. I take another breath and run my fingers through my hair before grabbing into my bag and finding my pills without much thought. “I can’t have this conversation right now, ok?”

“Why not? You’re not alpha enough to deal with me? Huh?” She steps closer to me, grabbing my wrist. I whirl around and tear myself from her grip, grabbing both of her wrists in mine and backing her against the door behind her. My chest heaves against hers, my eyes locked on her nearly black eyes. Her pupils are blown so wide that the green of her irises is almost completely gone. And God help me, I think I might kiss her. I think I might make good on all those horrible, dirty thoughts that I’ve just barely been able to contain over the past week. 

The silence between us is heavy and full of gasping breaths and a wordless stare that says way more than it should. 

Victoria wants me. Or her heat does, anyway. But that doesn’t make it right. 

I let go and swallow so hard that it hurts, backing away and hurrying to grab my suppressants with shaking hands. I almost drop all the big red pills on the floor before getting a hold of one and popping it in my mouth, grabbing my water bottle and swigging down as much water as I can. 

“Get out,” I finally manage to say when I feel myself coming back down. 

“Max, I-“ 

“Please,” I almost beg, covering my face with my hands. “Just… please, get out.” 

There’s a pause, an aching, painful moment where I’m terrified that she won’t leave. That this beautiful, infuriating girl won’t leave me all alone to process what the fuck just happened to me. 

But then the door opens and closes so quickly that I’m scared I imagined the whole thing. And then the silence comes back and it’s deafening. 

Because I’m truly alone. No one, not even the person I want to care about me as much as I care about her will never understand what’s going on inside my head. How can she when I barely understand it myself?

Friday isn’t much better. My suppressants aren’t working like they’re supposed to and I can feel it. I’m on edge, constantly fighting off my baser instincts and thoughts that should never ever enter my brain. Like how much I love when Victoria’s little skirt rides up when she sits down or how much I want to bend her over my desk and - 

I shake my head, burying my face in my hands as I try to get a hold of myself. 

I realized last night that the reason this is happening is because of Victoria’s heat. Her out of control hormones are wreaking havoc on my once stable mental state and I don’t know how much more I can take. I’ve resolved to ask Kate some questions later, but in the meantime I’m stuck in Photography class with Victoria’s scent and her voice and her body and her tight, uncomfortable laugh that I can tell is just a mask to hide the discomfort I can smell gathering between her strong, nylon covered thighs. 

I hold back a groan and lay my head down on my notebook, wishing that I could focus for five seconds. I was barely able to get the edits done I needed for my paper and it’s less than perfect, but it’s hard to care. It is what it is and I’m too scattered and raw to try any harder. 

When we all turn in our papers, Mr. Baker lets us out early on a You-Don’t-Tell-and-I-Won’t-Tell basis. I’m tempted to stay in my seat until Victoria leaves the room when an angel comes into my field of view and I can’t help smiling. 

“Hey, Max,” Kate says gently, placing a soothing hand on my shoulder. “Can I walk with you? I had something to ask you.” 

I’m about to say yes when the source of my endless torment comes barreling back into my mind. 

“Actually, Max and I were supposed to talk,” Victoria says from behind me and I turn to look up at her, eyebrows knit together questioningly. A look I’m not really used to seeing on that perfect face.

“Victoria, I-“ 

“Max, come on. I really need to talk to you,” the taller girl says a bit more softly, glancing at Kate before looking back at me. Her eyes are open, vulnerable. “Please? We… we need to work this out.” 

I almost expect Kate to ask what the hell is going on, but she doesn’t. She just gives me a searching look before worrying her lip, glancing at Victoria and slowly walking away. I almost beg her not to leave, but she’s gone before I can say a word. And then Victoria is looking at me and I have to avoid her gaze because I can tell that she’s searching my soul. 

“So what-“

“Not here,” she says quietly, looking around and nodding the door. “Come on, let’s go for a cup of coffee or something.” 

“Don’t you have a party to get ready for?” I ask her as I follow her out of the classroom and she sighs like she’s been suffering my bullshit for way too long.

“God, I forgot. Ok, fine. Let’s go to your room then,” she says firmly, like the choice has already been made. “This week has been hell.”

“You’re telling me,” I grumble, my hands in my pockets as I walk a few paces behind the taller girl. 

“You don’t have to walk behind me, you know,” she says as she slows her pace. “Why do you walk so damn slow anyways?” 

Maybe because I feel like I’m walking off a cliff.

“How about we focus on whatever it is you wanted to talk about,” I say with a sigh. We get into the building and into the elevator and suffer a long, awkward ride up to our floor before walking down the hall to my dorm. I open the door and we step in. I drop my bag on my bed and go to sit in my desk chair, deciding I need to be as far away from the omega as humanly possible in this tiny room. She closes the door behind her and sighs, setting her black leather bag down on my messy bedside table before fixing me with a gaze so sharp that I feel piercing my heart in several - mostly uncomfortable - ways. 

“Listen, Max, I…” She pauses, breathes, and keeps going. “I’m sorry.” I’m glad to be sitting down. Otherwise that phrase would’ve knocked me on my ass. 

“What?” I ask softly, getting a frustrated groan from the blond girl standing across the room. 

“Are you deaf? I said I’m sorry. Ok? Can I stop saying it now?”

“I… I just don’t really. Um. I don’t get it,” I say honestly, looking Victoria over like I have a new set of eyes. “Why are you apologizing?”

“Because I pushed you. I… I challenged you and I know that you’re… affected and I’m… sorry.” The words are clipped, like her throat is as tight as her shoulders. “I shouldn’t have acted like that. I know that you’re… sensitive-“

“You know what? It’s fine,” I say firmly, leaning back in my chair even though it makes me feel too open. I can’t stay stiff anymore. I have to let this… thing loose somehow. Maybe later I can figure it out. Solve it. Maybe I should text my mom. She’s always been good at helping me through my weird phases.

“It’s not fine,” Victoria insists, pulling me back to the present. She’s stepping closer slowly, like she’s afraid I’ll touch her again. Or maybe… maybe what I smell on her, what I see in her eyes, is hope. 

“I shouldn’t have pushed you so far. Can we… start over?” 

I look into her eyes and something in me feels like it’s being pulled in, tugged on ceaselessly by the omega’s sweet, alluring scent. And I can’t say no. 

Even though she challenged me, pulled the alpha out of me like a knife from an old wound, I can’t stay away from her. Because no one ever makes my heart skip like this. No one ever makes my gut twist like this. 

“Yeah,” I whisper softly, smiling a little as I look into those sharp green eyes. She smiles back at me and I swear that I see her cheeks turn a pretty shade of pink. “You wanna help me pick out something to wear? I’m useless when it comes to this sort of thing.”

“Oh, I know,” Victoria says with a playful scoff and I can’t help laughing, smirking at me in that way that makes my stomach explode with butterflies and waves of nervous nausea. She turns to my closet and I feel my heart almost drop into my gut when she looks at the clothes I know for a fact are nowhere near good enough for any party ever, let alone a Vortex Club party. 

“Oh, Max. You poor, poor thing,” Victoria tsks as she pulls out an old, barely worn blouse with blue and black stripes. “Why in the world would you ever buy this?”

“My grandma bought it for me,” I admit softly, worrying my lip gently as I watch the blond carefully, not sure whether to flinch away or be more open. “I’ve only ever worn it once.”

“I always had you pinned as a button-up kind of girl,” she comments and I can’t help how my heart flutters uselessly in my chest, my ears going hot. 

“I… I would be, but I don’t have any money,” I reply softly, getting to my feet and walking closer to point at an old, worn out dress shirt that used to belong to my dad. “That’s the only one I have. It’s way too big for me.”

Victoria pulls it out, the old grey color fading with time. She examines it, holds it out into the light and then out in front of me, looking me over. 

“If it was your size, it’d be fine. But I think we can do better,” she says thoughtfully, meeting my gaze with a grin. “You wanna go shopping? I know a place nearby where we can go before the party.” 

“You heard me when I said I was broke, right?” I ask her with a questioning smile, getting a scoff in return as she hangs the shirt back up in my closet. 

“That’s cute, Max. Come on,” she says as she picks up her bag and opens the door, walking out into the hall. “We’re going shopping and I’m at least getting you something nice enough for a high school party.”

I follow her like I’m being tugged by a rope tied around my heart, a big dorky smile on my face. 

“You can’t be serious,” I say as I follow her, not sure what to expect. It’s all sort of ironic. 

“Oh, I’m serious, alright,” Victoria says as we ride the elevator down to the first floor and then walk towards the parking lot. “I never joke about fashion. You should know that by now.” 

“I know, I just never thought you’d be taking me shopping,” I tell her and she winks at me as she grabs keys out of her purse and clicks a button, her white sedan giving a little beep in response. 

“What are friends for?” She asks me with another brain melting smile. “Now get your skinny ass in the car. We only have like two hours before I have to be at the pool getting things ready.” 

I get in the car and am not at all surprised by the fancy leather interior. And the totally out of this world stereo system. 

“Dude, this thing costs like, more than my entire life,” I say as I run my fingers over the metal and plastic that looks like it just came off the lot. 

“It is. Which is why you shouldn’t be getting your grubby little hipster fingerprints all over it,” she says in a tone that lacks all her usual venom. I can’t help smiling even more, a bit of hope filling me because I’m slowly beginning to enjoy this weird little arrangement. Maybe being friends with Victoria Chase has its perks. 

I have to push that thought down as soon as it surfaces. I will not be that person. 

“Can I at least play something?” I ask with so much sincerity that Victoria laughs like she’s some kind of villain in a Disney movie. 

“Fine, but only because you’re so cute when you say it like that,” she replies and my whole body goes warm for a moment. She hands me her phone and starts the car, buckling her seatbelt before pulling out of the parking lot and heading down the road. I find a song and just let it play until it soaks into my bones. 

It all feels way too right. The music, the scent and feel of riding in a car with Victoria, hearing her hum along with a song I didn’t expect her to know, let alone hum to. I can’t help how my heart settles into it, how everything I’ve been feeling over the past week just melts away into a relaxation so intense that I nearly fall asleep on our five minute drive to a small clothes shop in Downtown Arcadia Bay. It’s something I’ve only ever felt at home with my family and when I’m alone with Chloe or Kate. But this is different somehow. Like fate. Or… I don’t know. Maybe I shouldn’t think so hard about it. 

And then we walk into the clothes shop and my perfect little world of music and sweet smelling omega pheromones falls apart. There are so many different colors, scents, sounds and feelings to think about that I have to take a second before I can really do anything other than just stare at it all. 

Victoria is patient, even kind. She waits for me, gives me space as she walks around the small shop and uses her long, delicate fingers to search through what catches her eye. And I watch her for way too long. I watch how the light shines off of her perfectly groomed hair, how her brows knit together when she sees something she thinks might work and how her mouth twitches in slight disgust when she sees something she hates. And God, save me because I can’t stop staring at her. I never want to stop staring at her and it’s terrifying. 

She looks at me and smiles a bit, crooking a finger at me to invite me closer. I swallow thickly around my tongue and walk over to her, smiling as much as I can. She raises a brow at me and her smile turns into a grin. 

“So, I have some contenders,” she starts as she places three tops over a rack to show off the colors and fits. “You’re going to try them on.”

“I don’t need to try them on,” I say weakly, not sure I want to take anything off ever in Victoria’s presence. It’s been hard enough taking off my clothes to change in my dorm right across the hall from her. But the taller girl is quite insistent. 

“Come on, Smallfield. I promise not to take a peek at your bits,” she says with an eyebrow wiggle that has me laughing in surprise. 

“That is the last thing I’m worried about,” I manage to say through my laughter as we walk to the changing rooms. My face hurts from smiling. 

“I would expect the unexpected if I were you,” she says with a bit less teasing behind the words and I can’t stop my grin from spreading. I also can’t stop my mind before it travels to places I know it shouldn’t. Places that make being friends with an omega - especially one as beautiful, smart and fierce as Victoria - very difficult.

She hands me the shirts and even two different pairs of jeans. I wet my dry lips and flick my gaze down to the clothes in my hand, trying and failing to slow my racing heart. 

“Y-yeah, thanks,” I manage to say before walking into a little fitting room that has a bench, a few hooks on one wall and a mirror on the opposite one. I sigh, looking at myself in the mirror because sometimes that’s all you can really look at in such a small room. 

I stare myself down, liking what I see less and less as Victoria’s words run through my head. 

She’s just being friendly. Someone like her wouldn’t go for… this.

My scrawny figure makes me want to curl in on myself the more clothes I shed. I know that this is partially my own doing. The suppressants stunted my growth and stopped my hormones from making me gain muscle, but that’s not really the problem. I know that there are certain things about my body I can’t change, things that I really wish I could. Like my freckles. I’ve never liked them. Especially the ones dotting my shoulders like ash on a pale hill. Or my nose. It’s never quite looked right to me. Not to mention the pale color of my eyes. They make me look dead when I stand in certain kinds of light. 

I almost forget to put the new clothes on, my goal suddenly far away as I stare at my own reflection, that ache of knowing that I don’t look how I feel weighing heavily in my chest. 

She’d go for someone bigger, I tell myself as I put on the jeans, zipping them up over my briefs. The denim fits well on my legs, but it’s too loose around my waist. Go figure. 

I slide the first button-up on and ease it over my shoulders, watching myself in the mirror and… suddenly, so suddenly that I almost miss it, I see a flash of something I like. The color is flattering, a nice powder blue and the fit is nice. Not too boxy or too fitted. 

Watching myself carefully, I roll my shoulders and reach to do the buttons from top to bottom, staring at my reflection might it jump out and bite me. I look myself over and tilt my head, wondering why I haven’t tried this before. Why haven’t I called up my mom and asked her to take me shopping for something less… 

Less Max-like?

No, that’s not right. Just less repetitive. Something that stands out more. 

Because you don’t like to stand out.

I sigh, rolling my neck to let some of the pressure loose before walking out of the stall and looking around for Victoria. I don’t have to search for long because she’s sitting on a little armchair a few feet away, scrolling through her phone. When I walk out, she looks up immediately and her eyes lock on me as she stands, a slow smile tugging at her lips. 

“Ok, before you say anything,” she says as she walks over and reaches out to me. I immediately tense up, not sure what to expect. And then she’s undoing the first couple buttons near the top as I try my best to stay absolutely stock still. “Unless you’re wearing a tie, please for the love of God, do not button this all the way up. It could work sometimes, but you’re going to a party full of teenagers, not a gala.” 

“Oh, ok,” I reply dumbly, trying desperately to ignore the way her fingers brush over the skin of my neck and chest as she undoes the first two buttons. 

“I’d ask if you want a tie, but I don’t think you’ll need one. Maybe if I invite you to something more formal we can get you a nice muted tone and some slacks,” she continues as she straightens the collar, making me feel like I might combust from the contact alone. Her fingers feel like matches against my roughened nerves of my overstimulated skin. I almost don’t hear what Victoria is saying until she’s telling me to lift my shirt.

“W-what? Why?” I stammer out, drawing a blank as I watch the blond raise a questioning brow at me. Like I’m supposed to know why she wants me to lift up my shirt. 

“Not all the way, just enough so I can see how the jeans fit around your waist,” she explains so patiently that I almost mistake her for someone other than Victoria Chase. I laugh breathlessly, shaking my head as I try to bring myself back to reality. She’s just trying to help me find an outfit, that’s all. Nothing more. 

“Oh, right,” I finally manage to say as I lift the shirt a bit, showing the space between my body and the jeans. “They’re a bit big, but all my jeans fit like this.”

“Because you have such skinny hips. With all the waffles you eat, I’m surprised you’re not a hulking monster,” she teases dryly and I have to laugh, even though it’s a hollow sound, because I’m not sure what else to do with the words that I’ve been trying not to say to myself since I started taking suppressants. 

I don’t want to be a huge, scary alpha. I never have been and never will be and that’s a good thing. Except for the fact that Victoria probably likes big, scary alphas with huge muscles and deep voices and a good growl every now and again. And that just isn’t me. 

“Yeah, that’s never been my style,” I mutter as Victoria turns to the rack of belts nearby and picks out a fairly nondescript black one. 

“Good, because alphas like that are morons,” she says nonchalantly and I can’t help smiling at her, a bit more of the playfulness I felt before coming back in a rush. 

“I was under the impression that you thought I was a moron,” I tell her and she gives me a glare, barely hiding her smile. 

“You are. Just less so than the average alpha,” she replies and I laugh, shaking my head as I put on the belt and buckle it. It doesn’t take much for the pants to fit nicely after that. They feel good on my legs and any tighter would be uncomfortable. This is how I’ve always worn my jeans so if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, I guess. 

“Now, what do you think?” She asks me and nods to the mirror next to me. I hadn’t noticed it before. I turn and look at myself, surprised to find that I actually look way better than I thought I would. 

“Not bad,” I say with a smile, running my fingers through my hair and the omega beside me gasps in realization, making me jump slightly at the sudden reaction. 

“Hold on, don’t move,” she says hurriedly, grabbing a hair tie out of her bag and stepping behind me, a comb suddenly running through my hair. 

“Christ, be careful,” I say with a nervous chuckle, trying not to flinch at how hard she’s combing my hair. 

“Sack up, Lamefield,” she chides me and I roll my eyes, sighing even as the taller girl’s attentions become much more slow and gentle. 

Watching her in the mirror, I can’t help noticing how focused she seems. So intent on her task that she doesn’t seem to know or care that I’m staring right at her. My whole body wants to melt at the feeling of her fingers in my hair, pulling it back skillfully like she’s done this a hundred times. 

“Did you used to have long hair?” I ask absentmindedly and the omega glances up at our reflection, a funny look on her face. Like she’s pleasantly surprised, even amused. 

“Yeah, but I chopped it all off,” she tells me as she gets back to her task. “It didn’t suit me.” 

“I like your hair this way. It makes you look a bit more severe,” I say without thinking, realizing that might not have been the best choice of words. But then Victoria laughs and I relax, watching her put as much of my hair up as she can and ties it all against the back of my head. 

“God, you’re an idiot,” she replies with a soft sigh that I almost mistake for affection. And then she gently brushes a strand of hair behind my ear, smiling at me in the mirror before seeming to realize herself. She avoids my gaze, pulling on her bottom lip with her teeth in a way that makes me wish she was doing that to me. Or maybe the other way around? Or both? God, stop. 

The last thing I need right now is a hard on. 

“So, what do you think?”

I look at myself in the mirror and smile. I can’t help it. I look good and I can feel it. Sure, I look different, maybe different than even I expected. If Victoria had told me that this look would make me feel not only comfortable but like I actually look good, I would’ve laughed in her pretty little face. It’s not super dressed up but it looks nice, slick but casual. 

The blue of the shirt brings out the color in my eyes, the jeans are fitted and comfortable. Plus, it’s hard to look bad in jeans that are this expensive. My hair is tied back, but my bangs are still framing my face, a few loose strands of hair putting my features more on display. I almost look like Chloe if I squint. 

“I… It’s great,” I say honestly, smiling as I look at Victoria’s reflection. She smiles back and straightens my shirt a bit more, running her hands down my back in a way that makes me suddenly very aware of how tight these jeans could get if I’m not careful. “Thank you. I really like it.” 

“Don’t thank me yet, we still have two more shirts and another pair of pants to try on,” she says with a grin that makes me feel an awful lot like a mouse being sized up by a cat. “Are you game for some more runway time?” 

“Sure,” I say without hesitation, turning to look up into those sparkling green eyes, all sharp edges of gold and green and brown and things so deeply buried beneath that all I can do is think of leaning closer. Drowning into the sea of emerald-gold. 

Being friends with Victoria is going to be much harder than I thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for reading! Once again, head to my Tumblr @blake-is-strange97 to see more fics and to see how you can let me know what you wanna see! Thank you again and have an awesome day!


	5. Chapter Five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Victoria has trouble getting ready for the dance, but it's all worth when she gets some alone time with Max.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all have had a nice winter holiday season! I'm sorry it's been a while, work got crazy and then the holidays came around and since my brothers will be out of country next year, I spent all the time I wasn't sleeping with my family. I hope that this chapter makes up for it, though! Thank you all for your patience and please enjoy!
> 
> Warning: Some sexual content at the beginning of the chapter as well as underage drinking and drug use. Mild, but still there.

Victoria’s POV 

I can’t stop smiling. I hate it, it hurts but it makes me feel so light inside that I can’t seem to stop. Max is sweet, caring, funny and her banter is through the roof when she’s comfortable. Or somewhat comfortable, at least.

Which is why I’m currently having so much trouble picking out what to wear. Normally I wouldn’t wear anything too special. Maybe something that’s a step up from my daily wear, but I can’t help the feeling that begs me to dress up a bit more. But nothing seems right! Nothing I pick up is good enough for Max. 

I pause, my brow furrowed as I look at the black skirt I just picked up. 

_ Who says I’m trying to impress Max?  _ I ask myself as the sinking feeling in my gut grows.  _ God, when is this stupid heat brained bullshit going to end?  _

I put the skirt away and pull out my phone, texting Taylor at lightning speed. 

_ Sent: get your ass to my room right fucking now _

I don’t have to wait long for a reply, which helps ease my nerves a bit. 

_ Sweet-T: alright alright don’t get your panties in a wad about it ;)  _

I roll my eyes and toss my phone aside, staring at my closet for another few seconds before deciding that I’m not going to find anything good right now. My head isn’t in the right place.

My head isn’t even really here in my dorm right now. It’s back at the boutique with Max and her soft hair and pretty eyes and the way she stood up so much straighter when she looked at herself in the mirror. 

She looked good enough to eat and I swear to Christ I almost kissed her. I almost kissed that hippie waif just because she looks so fucking perfect in blue. 

I groan and flop down on my couch, staring at the ceiling as I try not to let my mind travel to unsavory places, but I can’t help it. I can’t stop the images and memories flooding my mind because, truthfully, I don’t want to.

Max’s scent has always been sort of muted, calm and unnoticeable. But since my heat started, I can tell it’s changing. Max is changing. Or reacting, at least. Which I count as a step in the right direction. Or… a direction… I guess.

I cover my face with my hands, trying to block out the way it had felt to have Max so close to me. To practically feel her warmth through her clothes, to run my fingers through her hair and pull it back into a tiny ponytail at the back of her head. How she’d seem to relax and tense at my touch in equal measure. I smile and laugh softly to myself, remembering how she’d nearly jumped out of her skin when I’d moved to lift up her shirt to show me her pants.

I can’t help how my mind wanders to how she’d react to me unbuttoning that shirt. How she’d taste if I kissed her, if she’d jump. If she’d melt. God, I would hope that she’d melt. 

I sigh and glance at my door, relieved to see that it’s locked as the heat grows more and more intense between my legs. I haven’t really had many chances to release the tension growing inside me since I’ve been trying not to think about a specific alpha that lives just across the hall. I know that if I touch myself, Max will smell it. Hell, the whole damn dorm might smell it. 

But that only makes the emptiness inside me become more intense. So I reach for the remote to my TV off the coffee table beside me and click it on. I need something to at least try and hide the sound of what I’m about to do. 

When I pick a channel, I sigh and set the remote down, letting my hand slide down my body and press into my panties. I’d stripped down to my underwear as I was searching for something to wear as well as to help relieve the sweltering heat that’s been boiling beneath my skin for almost the entire week. 

I sigh in a mixture of relief and need as my fingers move over the hottest, most sensitive part of me. My center pulses and I feel more wetness cover my fingers as I let myself just roll over my clit in slow, soothing strokes. 

But within a few seconds, it’s not enough. The emptiness is growing stronger, hollowing me out in a way that brings tears to my eyes. I don’t know how much longer I can take this. I have until Monday, then my meds will be in, but I don’t know if I’ll last. 

I moan into the empty air, remembering Max’s sweet, soothing scent as I press two fingers inside myself, knowing the stretch is nowhere near enough. Every instinct inside me tells me that my own hand isn’t going to get rid of the ache inside me. 

I can almost feel Max pressed against me, laying over me, kissing my neck, grabbing my hips, pressing herself deep inside me until I’m stretched to my limit. 

I moan deeply at the thought, my heart racing as my climax starts to build and build in my gut like fire. 

“Oh god, Max,” I let myself breathe out, my voice high and desperate even to my own ears. I wish I could feel her, wish I could let her take me completely and claim my entire being until I have nothing left. 

I come with a muffled cry, the sound being pushed into my own hand as I cover my mouth. As much as I wish Max was here, I don’t want her to come running through the door thinking I’m hurt or something. 

The orgasm isn’t enough. I feel wet and sticky and cranky and my room stinks of unsatisfied omega and I know it does. I sigh and cover my eyes with my arm, knowing my panties are ruined and my skin is covered in sweat and that Taylor will be here any second, but I can’t bring myself to move. 

My entire being aches to be touched, to be filled and taken and bred and it makes me shiver with disgust knowing that anything in me wants that. 

As I get myself dressed to walk down the hall and wash my hands, I try not to let myself cry in pain and disappointment. This is torture. Pure, unadulterated torture. I know it’s for a purpose. A stupid one, but still a purpose. 

I walk out of my room and go to the bathroom down the hall, relieved that no one else is around as I wash the scent and sticky wetness off my hands. I probably need a shower, but I can’t risk doing anything else before Taylor gets here. 

And of course she’s out in the hall when I leave the bathroom, still vulnerable and crabby. She smiles at me and then she seems to catch my scent because her smile falters and her nostrils flair a bit. 

“Hey, Vic. Are you ok?” She asks me gently. I must really look like a mess because she’s being so sweet to me that it makes me want to cry. 

“I feel like a shit corpse warmed over. How are you?” I ask as we walk to my room. It still stinks, but Taylor is nice enough not to say anything. 

“I can see that,” she says in a good-natured tone, but it makes me bristle anyway.

“Gee, thanks,” I growl as I move to my closet which I’m now realizing looks like it’s either thrown up or exploded all over my floor. Apparently I came through like more of a whirlwind than a I meant to. “Now can you please help me pick out something to wear?” 

The beta looks at my clothes that are scattered over the floor, her brows furrowed nervously. 

“I mean, yeah, but don’t you usually help  _ me  _ with this kind of thing?” She asks me a bit more gently, stepping over a pair of abandoned heels.

“Yes, but now  _ I  _ need help. So please, for the love of fuck, tell me what to wear,” I whine, feeling childish and petulant. I don’t have the energy to pretend right now and Taylor is safe, comfortable. It’s easy to be myself when she’s around and right now I feel like rotting dog shit. 

The tall beta girl gives me a look but doesn’t say anything to argue. She just sighs and looks over the piles of discarded clothes.

“Ok, gimme a sec. Just sit down and try to relax,” she says as she kneels down and picks up a few things, draping them over her arm and going to hang them up in the closet. 

“You don’t have to-“ 

“I said relax,” she repeats firmly, lifting a brow at me and nodding to the couch. “Sit down. You don’t look like standing is comfortable.”

It’s not. But sitting isn’t either. Neither is laying down. Honestly, existing is the most uncomfortable experience at the moment. But I sit down anyway, sighing as I lean my head back against the couch. I feel a bit more calm with Taylor here, but she doesn’t do much to quell the roiling heat in my gut. 

“You’re kinda bossy,” I grumble towards the ceiling. 

“That’s hilarious,” Taylor says dryly and I lift my head to look at her. She has a scrunched up look on her face like she’s got something on her mind. Her scent is also… strange. Kind of off. 

“What’s wrong?” I ask her as I look her over. Her scent smells much more agitated than usual. “Did I catch you in the middle of something?”

There’s a pause. And then a sigh.

“I was talking to Courtney and she thinks Stephanie might not be into girls,” she mumbles. 

I try not to laugh. Really I do, but I can’t stop myself. I laugh so hard that my stomach starts to hurt and my eyes start to water. I laugh so hard that when Taylor looks at me, she only looks more pissed off. 

“What’s so fucking funny?” She asks me, her brows knit together in frustration. I try to gather myself, gasping as I brush my hair out of my face. 

“I’m sorry, it’s just- God, that’s such bullshit,” I manage to croak out through my laughter. “Taylor, Stephanie is like the second gayest person I know.” 

“Who’s the first?” She asks with a raises brow and I roll my eyes, finally managing to pull myself together. 

“Chloe King-of-Dykes Price. Who else? Have I mentioned that they’re like best friends? Do I have to remind you how Stephanie looked at you when you talked to Max? She wants you, trust me,” I tell her as I stand, walking over and grabbing the outfit she’d started to set out. “Now help me do my makeup so I can turn you into a fucking jaw-dropper.” 

Setting everything up doesn’t take as long as I thought it would. In fact, it’s the first time I’ve had fun planning a Vortex Club party in a while. Normally, I can’t wait to get it over with so that I can drink and smoke my cares away. But today it feels nice and kind of invigorating to plan something. To be in control of something.

My body is a hellscape of burning aches and a headache that’s pounding along my frontal lobe, but that fades to the background when I’m putting up lights and adjusting volumes on speakers and helping smuggle in alcohol past the teacher Wells put in charge of making sure there’s no funny business. They never really care. Someone could OD in their pool and they’d shrug it off somehow. 

That’s what they did when Kate almost jumped off that roof. They were nice for a little while, but it eventually faded into memory. Now Kate’s different and we’re all different because we treat people with a bit more empathy, but the school itself never changed. No more school counseling after the first week that followed the incident, no more “Speak Up” campaigns after the first month. But it doesn’t matter. Because  _ we _ remember. 

I know that I’ll never forget it.

So, when I’m done setting everything up, I make sure that the whole Vortex Club is aware that any attempts at fucking with people will be immediately squashed and anyone suspected of being a creep will be kicked from the club. Of course, everyone agrees with the terms. Even the alpha meatheads are understanding. So that’s a step in the right direction. 

It’s not until fifteen minutes before I’m supposed to meet up with Max that I start to get nervous. I’m not sure why it takes so long for the nerves to set in, but when they do, my gut roils like I’ve swallowed a lightning bolt. It takes Taylor literally shoving me out of the pool house for me to actually start walking towards the dorms. I take out my phone as I walk, letting myself lag even though my body wants to sprint there and see Max all done up in the new clothes I bought her. 

She was so absurdly grateful for the outfit that it makes me wonder if she’s never gone out shopping with a friend before. I mean, I’m sure she has, but I’m ninety-nine percent sure that her friends aren’t loaded, thus lacking the ability to get her something she actually looks nice in. 

Not that she doesn’t normally look nice. She actually looks annoyingly good in her stupid jeans and t-shirt combo. Especially when she wears those dumbass pun shirts. God, I’d love to help her take one of those things off, see if the freckles on her cheeks continue their path onto her chest and shoulders. What I wouldn’t give to just see her in a tanktop or something. But that’s pretty unlikely in the cooling weather that overtakes Arcadia Bay this time of year. 

I know it’s probably just my heat talking, but I can’t help how Max sticks in my brain and her scent still fills my lungs like liquid sweetness. I wish I could lean in and bury my face in her neck and just inhale her until my body doesn’t need or remember any other scent for the rest of my life. But that’s probably never going to happen. 

Judging by how Max reacted to me telling her to lift her shirt, I doubt she’s interested. She almost seemed terrified of the idea. I have a feeling that Max has some underlying identity issues that she probably hasn’t dug very far into yet, but who doesn’t? 

_ I should just ask her out _ , I think to myself as I get closer to the dorms, having texted Max to meet me outside.  _ The worst that’ll happen is that she’ll say no. Who cares? It’s not like she’d be able to do much better. _

I push that last part down, scolding myself internally. I know Max can do better than me, that’s why I want her. I shouldn’t act like I’m better than her regardless of how she makes me feel, but I can’t help it sometimes. It’s the only way to keep myself from feeling so vulnerable around her. Those silver eyes always strip away the walls I try so hard to put up around myself. She makes me feel naked and not in a sexy way. 

When the dorms come into view, I’m met with the sight of Chloe Price tossing a football into the air and catching it before she lifts it and tosses it with surprising strength. I follow that ball and my eyes widen when I see Max on the receiving end of the other alpha’s throw. The ball collides with her chest with a thud as she catches it, stumbling back with a pained cough. 

“Jesus, Chloe!” Max shouts weakly as she brushes the fly-aways from her face, my heart beginning to slam nervously against my ribs. She’s wearing what I bought her, but it’s all so put together now. She has the first two buttons undone, shirt untucked with her hair pulled back and the pants hug her hips just right. I have to bite my lip to keep myself from moaning just looking at her. 

“Sorry! Didn’t mean to get you in the tits,” Chloe calls from across the grass, barely holding back laughter. The taller girl is wearing a surprisingly nice leather jacket with black jeans and a white t-shirt underneath. Kate, on the other hand, is the picture of purity. She’s standing aside, watching Chloe with a smile on her face and an adorable dress that I never would’ve pictured her in before. She even has her hair down, the yellow flowers on her dress complimenting the golden waves that roll down her shoulders. 

“Don’t talk about my tits,” I hear Max grumble and I turn my attention back to her, my breath catching in my throat. She has the football in one hand as she uses the other to straighten out her shirt, making sure that it sits nicely in all the right places and oh Christ save me because it really does hug in all the right spots. Her shoulders look broader and she almost looks taller than usual, but that could just be because she’s standing up straight. Her hair is done up nicely and it looks slicked back a little, even if playing catch has apparently caused a few baby-hairs to stray from her carefully pulled back look. 

She must feel me staring at her because she looks up and a sweet, nervous looking smile tugs at her lips and she raises a hand to wave at me. My heart skips and I feel my cheeks flush as I wave back weakly. My attempted smile feels more like a grimace, but that’s ok. 

“Hey! The Queen Bee herself came to escort the losers to the party,” Chloe says as she and Kate walk over. Kate nudges her girlfriend gently. 

“That’s not very nice,” the omega says gently and I have to hold back a laugh, going for a scowl instead as I cross my arms over my chest and give the blue-haired alpha a critical once over. 

“It’s alright, Kate. I’m more interested in what kind and successful people think about me than what Chloe Price thinks,” I say sharply, glaring at the alpha with a not so subtle challenge. 

“O-kay, that’s enough of that,” Max cuts in, laughing nervously as she puts herself between Chloe and me. Chloe looks a little ruffled, but I’ll give her credit for keeping her cool. It’s not everyday that you see an alpha stand down from a challenge like that. 

“You look nice, Victoria.” 

The words hit me sideways, putting a genuine smile on my face as I turn my attention back to Max, the real reason I’m here. 

“You don’t look so bad yourself, Lamefield,” I tell her as I look her over, moving a bit more into her personal space to straighten her collar. It didn’t need straightening, but that’s ok. It takes a true force of will to keep myself from burying my nose in her neck and inhaling until she’s the only scent in my lungs for the rest of my life. 

“Thanks,” she says as she looks up at me, her silver eyes vulnerable and open. No wonder I’m falling for her so hard. 

“So, are you two gonna eye-fuck all night or are we gonna go have fun?” Chloe asks, giving me a warning glare when I look up at her. 

_ She’s just trying to protect Max. She doesn’t trust me, but that’s ok. I don’t have to prove myself to her. The only person’s opinion I care about is Max’s at the moment.  _

“You know you liked it,” I say before turning and starting towards the poolhouse. “Come on, the party’s already started.” I can hear the others follow me as I walk, Max coming to walk beside me. The air is brisk and stings a bit in my lungs, but it’s exhilarating in a way. Not quite as exhilarating as the way Max seems to project pure confidence as we make our way into the poolhouse though. 

The music is loud and booming off the tile that covers almost every inch of the giant room. There are already people in their underwear or bathing suits in the pool. Good thing it’s heated, I guess.

My focus is on the bar, though. I take Max’s hand in mine and lead her towards it, barely hearing the surprised squeak that she lets out as I tug her along. 

“What do you usually drink, Maxine?” I ask over the pounding bass and the alpha gives me a confused look. 

“You guys are allowed to have alcohol?” She shouts and I have to roll my eyes to keep myself from laughing. 

“No, but we get it anyway. Now tell me what you want to drink,” I insist, drumming my nails on the fold-out table that’s become our make-shift bar since I became president of the Vortex Club. It’s nothing special, but it’s better than serving drinks on the floor or on chairs like we used to. 

After a moment of Max chewing her lip and looking at all the tall, dark bottles on the table, she seems to make up her mind. 

“I guess a rum and coke is good,” she says with more authority than I’m used to hearing from her. 

“An interesting choice for someone I would assume is a lightweight,” I tease, ordering her drink and mine. When I hand Max her drink, she gives me a weak smile, just holding it as she takes a sheepish look around. 

Chloe orders a beer behind me, but I barely pay her any mind as I watch Max fiddle with her red solo cup uselessly. 

“So, are you going to drink it or should I drink it for you?”

Max laughs and shakes her head, putting the glass to her lips and taking a sip. A slow smile creeps onto her face as she seems to realize that the drink she picked doesn’t taste like jet fuel. 

“Oh, that’s actually really good,” she says with a laugh, taking a bigger sip. I take a step closer and grab her cup gently, smiling brightly as I stop her mid-swallow. 

“Slow your roll, big boy. You’re gonna drink yourself silly acting like that.” 

I don’t mean for words to come out so tender and open, but they do and the wide-eyed look Max gives me is more than worth the slip. I gently tap my cup against hers and smile down at her. 

“To a good night.” 

“Yeah, a good night,” Max repeats, smiling back at me as we both take a swig. 

We drink like that for a bit, but the music starts to get to me when the pleasant buzz of alcohol begins right along the front of my head. Watching people dance is making me want to do the same, so I grab Max by the wrist and tug her away from her conversation with Dana, not caring that the beta girl starts giggling at us. 

All I want to do right now is dance and hold Max close to me. Luckily, the overcrowded room is the perfect place with just the right excuse to do so. 

The music thrums heavily around us as I pull Max into the crowd, loving how the alpha locks her eyes on me and can’t seem to look away. I keep my eyes locked onto hers and smile at her, holding her hand and finding a spot to dance before pulling her towards me. She stiffens, her hands shaking nervously as I hold them in mine. 

“Hold me,” I mouth to her through the music and she swallows hard, her throat bobbing as she looks me up and down. Taylor was right, skirts are always a killer. 

“Are you sure?” She shouts and I have to laugh because she looks so adorably confused.

I pull her closer to me, wrapping my arms around her neck before leaning close to her ear. 

“Put your arms around me.” I put as much omega purr into it as I can, gratified when Max just nods stiffly and does as I ask. She’s still tense as we start swaying. “Try to relax. I won’t bite.” 

The shocked laugh I get in response is enough to tell me that I’ve pretty much melted the poor hipster’s brain. She can probably smell the lingering scent of my heat even though the symptoms have calmed considerably since I’ve gotten an alpha about as close as two people can get without mating. 

Max’s shaky hands land on the small of my back and I can’t help the shiver that runs through me. I can’t believe this is really happening. I’m pretty sure that the only reason I’m doing this is because of my heat. I’d have no real excuse otherwise. I’ve danced with plenty of alphas before, but this is different because it’s Max. Sweet, kind, tender hearted and completely irrationally talented Max. 

I let my hips sway against Max as she holds me, obviously unsure of what her role is in this particular activity. I want to tell her to just stand still and look pretty, but I don’t want to overwhelm her. Flirting is one thing, but this is taking it to a different level already. 

I can’t remember a time I’ve touched Max like this. Until recently, I don’t think I’d ever touched her at all. Not in a purposeful way like this, anyway. Not with my arms around her neck and my body pressed close to hers and our faces getting closer with each song that plays. 

After a song or two, Max is into it. She’s smiling and laughing and trying to twirl me under her arm and I’m laughing with her because she’s so adorable that it hurts not to laugh. She keeps saying that she’s not used to this, that being in a party type setting has always seemed strange to her and it makes my chest puff with a bit of pride knowing that Max would put herself in a strange situation and try it because I’m in it too. At least, that's what it seems like. 

It feels like we’ve been dancing for years by the time we stop to get some water and more drinks. I feel hot all over but in an exhilarating way, not in a tight, uncomfortable way like my heat has been making me feel. Maybe I sweat it all out on the dance floor. Maybe being with Max lessens the worst of the symptoms. Either way, I’m smiling so much it hurts and I never want it to stop. Never want Max to walk away. 

I even go so far as to wrap my arm around hers and lean into her side when we’re waiting for our drinks and it’s oddly relaxing. Especially when Max has that grin on her face, like she’s higher than the clouds, overlooking the entire world with those silver-blue eyes. 

We’re giggling and whispering about how scandalous it would be to have to do nude portraits for photography class when Jordan - a big alpha that just recently started at Blackwell and quickly becoming one of the Vortex Club hotties. For some, anyway - walks over to us.

“Hey, ladies. What’s so funny?” He asks as he steps closer, projecting a bit too much for my taste, but I smile anyway. 

“Hi, Jordan,” smiling as pleasantly as I can manage. “We were talking about our photography class.”

“Sounds fun,” he says with a smile and I relax a bit. My heat must have me on edge. Not all alpha’s are assholes. Just a lot of them. “Not as fun as this party, though. You did good, Victoria.” I smile a bit and shrug, the compliment causing a warm glow in my chest. I enjoy playing hostess sometimes. 

“Thanks. I just wanted everyone to relax,” I say as I lean against Max more, feeling suddenly that she’s much more stiff than before. I give her a glance and she’s got her eyes locked on the ground and her scent - however subtle it might be to everyone else - is like a beacon to me. It’s sharp and rich and angry in my nose as I inhale it, my thighs squeezing together for the barest amount. 

“Hey, you wanna get out of here?” Jordan asks me and I laugh pleasantly shaking my head as I tug Max along with me towards the door. 

“I don’t think so. Max and I were just about to head out. Weren’t we?” I ask her and she looks at me with a wide, confused look before the fog behind her eyes clears a bit and she nods. 

“Yeah. Heading out,” she repeats like an adorable little robot, her eyes glued to me. 

“Bye, Jordan. I’ll see you at the next club meeting,” I say as we walk past him. He doesn’t seem all that disappointed, so that helps. Not that I’d care much if he was. He’s not really my type. 

Max and I walk out of the pool house without anything too exciting happening, which is a plus because the small alpha feels like a live wire as we walk side-by-side. My arm is still locked around hers. She seems far away, her mind in another place, but her body is all sharp edges and tight muscles. I do what I can to pump out just a bit of soothing pheromones which seems to help a bit. But Max doesn’t really come back down to earth until she realizes that we’re walking into the elevator of the dormitory. 

“Where are we going?” She asks me quietly, looking a bit dazed. 

“My room and then the roof. We need to get you to relax,” I tell her and she gives me a furrowed brow in response. 

“The roof is relaxing?” 

I laugh at her slightly accusatory tone and shrug. 

“In a way. There’s no one else up there. People have started avoiding it, for obvious reasons,” I explain, taking her hand as we walk down the hall to my dorm. I open the door and walk in, but Max doesn’t follow, her hand slipping from mine as I go to my desk and open the drawer. I have a couple choices. I could grab the cigarettes or the weed. Or both. 

Both. Definitely both.

I grab the baggy with my last two blunts inside and then the pack of cigarettes. I’ve been trying to quit smoking, really and truly, but it’s way harder than I ever would’ve imagined. I’ll probably quit if I have kids. But that seems quite a ways off so smoking it is. 

I turn back to Max and I’m stopped dead in my tracks. She didn’t come in. She’s still standing just outside the door with this downcast look on her face. 

“You ok? You look stiff as a board,” I comment as nonchalantly as I can, grabbing a bottle of water and two Trulys out of my mini fridge. I hand them to Max and she looks at them like she’s afraid they’ll bite her. 

“Yeah, I’m ok.”

“You’re a horrible liar,” I tell her and she laughs a little, her shoulders slouching. 

“Sorry. It’s just weird. We never hang out and now we’re going to party on the roof? Seems kinda Twilight Zone, honestly,” she explains and I roll my eyes. 

“Don’t read too much into it,” I warn her, hoping the slight sharpness shows her that this, regardless of anything else, is just us being friends. Nothing else. 

“If you say so,” she replies, seeming to relax a little. 

I nod and walk past her towards the stairwell. We climb the stairs up a few more stories before getting to the ladder that leads onto the roof. Once we get up there, I wish I’d brought along a blanket, but the drinks will warm us up. Hopefully.

We settle against one of the short walls that guards the edge of the roof, making sure it buffers the wind a bit. I sigh and pull out one of the blunts, lighting it with the hot pink lighter I keep in the same baggy. After taking a slow, deep hit, I sigh, leaning back against the wall to comfortably watch the smoke flow up into the air before dissipating into nothingness. I turn to Max, giving her a sly smile as I hold out the little piece of rolled up paper to her. 

“Want something?” I ask and, to my surprise, she nods. Taking the joint from my fingers, she holds it between her thumb and index finger, taking a baby puff and holding it in for a moment before coughing it back out. 

“God, I don’t know how you and Chloe can do that,” she says through her cough, handing the joint back over to me. 

“Practice,” I reply, taking another hit before settling down to relax more fully. The tingle and gentle warmth is slow, soothing. Even as the smoke burns in my lungs, I feel much more relaxed and open. More so than I have this entire week. 

I know I shouldn’t, but I ask Max the question that’s been hanging out near the front of my focus since we left the pool house.

“So, that little run in with Jordan really set you on edge, huh?” 

The shorter girl stiffens beside me, shrugging as she opens the water to take a big swig. 

“I don’t know. I’ve never really felt anything like that before so it’s hard to say,” she admits as she tightens the cap on her water bottle and grabs a can from between us. “I’ve uh… been on suppressants for a long time.” 

“Me too,” I admit as I put out the remains of the first blunt and pull out a cigarette. “Ever since my first cycle.”

“Wow. I didn’t know that.”

“It’s pretty normal for most omegas. Especially in our generation and our parents’,” I explain as I light up, sighing happily when I inhale the thick smoke into my lungs before releasing it back into the night air. “But alphas don’t normally go on the pill.”

Max seems to understand that there’s a question behind the statement because she takes a big sip of her seltzer and avoids my gaze. I wait a moment before pressing her, feeling the pleasant buzz of nicotine start to flood my senses. It reminds me of the feeling I get after a nice coffee. 

“Any particular reason? Or are you just kind of trying to keep your status on the downlow?” I ask and the other girl shrugs, mindlessly rubbing her nail over the lip of her can. 

“I just… I don’t know. It’s complicated,” she says softly, her brows knitting together in thought. 

“More complicated than the freak out you had yesterday?” 

Max goes red in the face and shrinks in on herself a bit. 

_ Oops. Wrong choice of words. _

“Sorry. I know it was my fault,” I try to amend but Max just shakes her head.

“You don’t have to apologize, you already said you were sorry,” she replies quietly. I look up at the stars and exhale, a puff of cigarette smoke leaving my lips. The burn is pleasant, but it doesn’t block out the discomfort and guilt I feel bubbling inside me. 

“That doesn’t really make it ok, though. I… I knew you were having a hard time and I made it worse.” I pause, looking towards her as she stares down at the gravel covering the rooftop. Her face is tight with so many thoughts that I almost grab her hand. Almost. “It’s ok if you don’t want to talk about it. I just want to understand. I’m sorry that I didn’t go about it the right way. It’s just that… you’re a really interesting person and you’re so good at everything and it feels like you’re not even trying half the time.” 

“I am trying… usually,” Max replies, smiling a bit now. “You really think I’m interesting?” 

My whole body goes hot and I look away from her, chin up as I take a long, deep drag. 

“I guess,” I say as I exhale, turning back to her and giving her an accusatory look. “But don’t you dare let that go to your head. You’re still hipster trash, Lamefield.” 

Max laughs and I have to bite my lip to keep from joining in, but I smile regardless. 

“You’re pretty interesting too, Victoria. For a rich girl,” she jabs and I choke out a laugh, putting a hand over my chest. 

“Is that really all I am to you, Maxine? A rich girl?” 

“I mean, no. You’re also I massive bitch,” she adds, giving me a grin that has me laugh so hard that I almost piss myself. 

We talk like that for a long time, laughing and going over the details of life together. At first, it’s surface stuff. Things you could hear from a friend of a friend and know to be true. Like how Max has a dog back home or that her family isn’t exactly “traditional” like mine. An omega father and alpha mother make a lot more sense when you look at her though. 

Then, somewhere around 1am, it gets too cold to stay up on the roof. We walk down and snicker softly as we try to be quiet. Not that it matters. There are people still awake on every floor doing everything from smoking to fucking. It is a Friday night, after all. When we get to our floor, I’m a mess of giggles and Max is shushing me even though she’s in exactly the same state. It’s adorable and all I want to do is kiss her. 

We walk to my room and I open the door, smiling at Max as she stares at me, a dreamy look on her face. 

“I had fun tonight,” I confess and she smiles at me, her face lighting up with it. 

“Me too. We should hang out more,” she replies, a steady confidence that I’m not used to seeing from her flowing forth in waves. It’s endearing. Intoxicating.

I want to kiss her. 

So I do. 

It’s a slow, nervous kiss that has my heart fluttering like a trapped bird against my ribs, but I don’t care. Her lips are soft and she stiffens deliciously against me. I realize belatedly that this could be her first kiss and my heart stammers even harder from the thought. 

She makes such a small gasp that I barely hear it. But then she’s wrapping her arms around me and starting to kiss me back, clumsy as the motion is. I hum and let my hands cup her cheeks because I don’t want her to stop. 

But then her warmth leaves me body and I’m gasping for air, chasing her lips as she backs away. 

“Victoria-“ 

“Max, please,” I whine, hating how childish I sound. 

“You don’t want this.” 

I pause, my brow tightening as I look into those soft grey eyes. They’re so kind and patient that it’s infuriating because she’s saying that like she  _ knows _ this isn’t what I want. 

“What the fuck are you talking about? I just kissed you,” I say sharply, seeing her gentle restraint turn to hurt. 

“You're drunk and high and you’re in heat. I don’t think this is-“ 

“I swear to Christ that if you say the words I think you’re going to say, I’m going to kick your ass,” I huff out, turning away from her as an ache starts to fill my chest. I walk into my room and start taking off my shirt, tossing it on the floor. Max just stands there, struck dumb for a moment. 

“I-it’s not that I… it’s just that, if you want this, we should do it some other time,” she amends, but my heart is still stinging and the feeling is flooding my eyes. 

“Some other time,” I repeat, grumbling as I kick off my shoes. “You mean not after we spend a romantic evening on the roof?” 

“Tori, please,” the alpha says gently, walking up behind me and wrapping slender fingers around my wrist. I freeze, my heart racing. I realize slowly that I’m half naked and that seems to bring me down a bit, even if it’s not much. Not to mention the nickname has my tongue feeling twice as big as usual. “I… I like you. A lot. But… well, you can’t blame me for being cautious.” 

“Why are you so worried?” I decide to ask, turning around to face her. Her grip moves to my hand and her eyes go all silvery and sweet again and I’m lost. 

“Because… because I don’t understand why… why you’d pick me.” 

I stand there for a second, chewing the inside of my cheek. She’s right. I haven’t said or done much to show her that she’s the person I want. Why should she believe me?

“Because… because you’re nice. You’re not like all those other alpha assholes out there,” I say plainly and Max goes pink in the cheeks, shaking her head. 

“The only reason I’m not like them is because I don’t want to be. But deep down, I’m still an alpha. I’m still… a monster. Someone who could hurt you.” 

“Max, that’s not true,” I whisper, intertwining our fingers and stepping closer to her. “But if you’re afraid that this isn’t the right time… I guess I can be ok with that.”

There’s a flash behind her eyes that looks like hope as she stares up at me, a slow smile tugging at her lips. 

“Thank you. Maybe, when your heat is over, we can go out. Like… you know… on a date?” 

“Wow, that was lame,” I say with a laugh and she blushes harder, shaking her head. 

“Shut up, ok? I’ve never asked anyone out before!” She says as she shoves me playfully, smiling and laughing with me. “But I mean it. When things calm down, let me take you on a date. Nothing crazy, obviously.” 

“No way. I expect a romantic night Downtown with lobster and wine.”

“You know we’re not actually supposed to be drinking, right?” She asks me with a grin and I roll my eyes, barely able to keep from smiling. 

“Stop being cute and get out of here before I take it all back,” I warn playfully and her grin widens. 

“Ok, fine. But… before I go, can you uh… tell me something?” 

“That depends,” I reply as I draw my body closer to hers, letting a purr enter my voice. If she’s going to make me wait, I’m going to tease her at least a little. She swallows and laughs nervously, taking a moment before replying. 

“Why did you kiss me?” She asks. I roll my eyes so hard that they feel like they might fall out of my head. 

“Because you’re cute, ok? There, happy?” I sigh, feeling my own cheeks turn pink.

“You think I’m cute?” She asks as I sigh, shoving her away. 

“Get out, I take it all back! No dates, no more kisses,” I proclaim, but Max is laughing so I lose a bit of the bite. 

“Ok, whatever you say,” she replies, putting her hands in her pockets and starting towards the door. But then something comes over me and I catch her arm before she goes, pulling her close again. 

“One more kiss? For the road?” I whisper and the alpha goes all wide-eyed and sweet, nodding up at me. 

_ Just one more. Before this dream falls apart. _

“Yeah, for the road,” she says before leaning up to kiss me, her lips still and soft. I almost laugh because her inexperience is so obvious, but the humor is drowned out by how absolutely mind-numbingly good it feels to  _ finally kiss Max.  _ The alpha I’ve been dreaming about since the day I saw her. So infuriatingly gorgeous and sweet and kind and effortlessly good with a camera. She challenges me in ways no one else has ever been able to and I can’t stand it anymore. Can’t stand fighting it. 

“I… I should go,” Max gasps against my lips and I have to squash a whine of protest because she’s already set her boundaries. I shouldn’t push it. I don’t deserve to push it. 

“Ok. I’ll be here,” I say softly, barely holding back the quiver of remorse from my voice. I don’t want her to go. I want her to stay and hold me and whisper pretty words in my ear. I want her to touch me and love me and  _ need  _ me the way I need her. 

But she needs time. And I need to be ok with that. 

“I’ll see you soon,” she promises, giving my hand a gentle squeeze as her eyes linger on me. I can tell that this is hard for her too, I know it must be. Suppressed or not, Max is an alpha at heart and I can see that this is killing her. 

“Yes, you will,” I reassure her, nodding to the door. “You should go before you change your mind.” 

Max clears her throat and wipes her sweaty palms on her jeans before turning to walk away. I watch her go, the ache in my chest growing more and more as she goes. Then the door closes and I hear her door open and close across the hall and I slump down onto my bed. 

I guess I have to wait a little longer. I need to show her that I’m not the big bad bitch that I’ve made myself out to be. I need to show her that I really care about her. Hopefully this little waiting period is a step in the right direction. 

Because after that kiss, I don’t know how much more waiting I can take. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading and have an awesome day!

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading and have an awesome day!


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